Hokage Sensei
by Teacup Erinyes
Summary: Rough story based from a conversation in Manga Chapter 367. Later on : KakaSaku ShikaTen, possible hints to mature themes if you have a mind like Kakashi from the first chapter. More info inside, but of course... the title says it all...
1. Broken Dreams

**AN: This is the start of my second series of Naruto Fan fictions. I wasn't originally going to upload this until I had finished with MIA, but it was knawing at me. **

**The inspiration came from a section in Chapter 367 of the Naruto Manga, where Tsunade and Jiraiya are talking about all sorts of things (I can't say for spoiler reasons) and basically, it gets to a part in the conversation where Tsunade is defending her belief that there are others in Konoha who could do just as good a job at being Hokage as she could, and thinks that she should be helping Jiraiya instead. They say that although, they feel Naruto wouldn't be ready to become Hokage, Kakashi was "a gimme". **

**This really amused me as my immediate thought was, "What in Kami's name did they drop that in for?", but then it got me thinking "but what if….?"**

**And from that moment of craziness, this bizarre collection of words and ideas has formed… most of which I got completely carried away on.**

**Just to clarify for anyone who has never experienced the wonder that is Izzi-chan's biscuit induced creativity fits, I have only been reading the Naruto Manga from Chapter 350, and have only seen the rare half episode of the anime so far, so everything I base in these stories is taken from the general consensus of fan fictions I have read. Hence, if you are going to criticize any characters for being OOC, don't yell at me, I'm only doing what I've been taught. (Well, except Sakura in this chapter- I know she's being OOC, it's a plot point).**

**On the point of Sakura I want to clarify something straight away, since people seem to be easily confused by it. Last time I checked, and correct me if I'm wrong, Sakura is talented but she is not the best Medic in the village. She is still Tsunade's apprentice, and only gets to work at the hospital because of that fact. Got it? Good.  
**

**Characters are not mine but everything I do to torture and twist them in their own universe is. **

**I reserve the right to claim no attachment to my own brain and so cannot be held responsible for any mental problems my author notes or stories may aggravate and/or cause.**

**Hokage-sensei: **

**Chapter 1: Broken dreams**

Tsunade stood in front of the small gathering of shinobi and sighed. "I'm getting old. It may not look like it, but I am, and it is affecting me more than I care to admit most of the time. This job, it isn't mine and I know it. Right now, there are others who know much more about running this village than I do, especially seen as I haven't lived here in so long.

"I have talked this over many times with close colleagues, and we are mostly agreed. Now that the village has fully recovered from the last Hokage's tragic death, it's time I retire from the post of Hokage, and pass the position on to someone else."

Naruto's eyes went wide and sat up, desperately anticipating her next words.

She continued in a soft voice "I do regret that this is happening so soon, as it means that things cannot continue as they were supposed to. You will all be painfully aware that I named Naruto Uzumaki as my successor but, and I'm really sorry Naruto, we don't feel he is quite ready to take over yet."

There was a collective sigh of relief over most of the room at this revelation, which was immediately cut short as Naruto stormed out of the room, slamming the doors shut as he went. Everyone now held their breath awkwardly, knowing that he was likely to take this out on someone else as soon as the room emptied.

Kakashi stood up with a deep sigh of his own "I'll go and talk to him"

Before anyone could say a thing, he had taken off after Naruto and was following his trail out into a section of forest beside the Hokage tower.

The teenager was knelt on a low branch picking leaves off the tree angrily as he muttered to himself "Should have known she was just lying… she never thought I was good enough to be Hokage… stupid old lady…"

Kakashi positioned himself on a slightly higher branch of an adjacent tree and sat back comfortably against the trunk. "I'm pretty certain the tree didn't do anything to offend you"

Naruto glared up at him, probably just to assure identification, before staring back at the forest floor. "Shouldn't you be congratulating whatever bastard got Hokage instead?"

"There's no need. You need to understand why though, why you aren't."

"I suppose you're going to tell me…" he grumbled

"Not if you don't want me too" he shrugged and got his book out of his pocket. "I'm happy to sit here and read till you are done sulking like a girl"

Naruto stood and pouted up at him "I'm not sulking like a girl"

"Ok" Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

"Why don't you care? Shouldn't you be pissed that your student is getting overlooked all over again?"

"You aren't my student anymore. You aren't my problem."

"Fine then, oh wise one, why?"

"There's no need for flattery Naruto. I only need manners in payment for my services."

"Sure, and the free meals for two years had nothing to do with it?"

"_That_ was as your sensei. We've covered this before; don't you ever listen to me?"

"No! And I don't intend to start now."

He put the book away and dropped to the ground beside him. "Naruto, did you think Tsunade was a good Hokage when you first knew her, and who she was?"

"No, you know I didn't" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Exactly. She was a full jonin with over forty years of experience, and one of the legendary sennin, and you didn't think _she_ was good enough." Kakashi began to wander off towards the tower, calling back over his shoulder "Just think that through"

"Kakashi-sensei!" he called back and the older man stood still "Who is it?"

"Who is what?"

"Who is Hokage?"

"Ah… you don't need to know that right now. Come back and see me or Tsunade once you've calmed down." He continued to walk away, and then paused for a second as he performed a number of seals in quick succession before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Tsunade waited alongside Shizune in the Hokage office, already with her things ready to move out (mainly consisting of half empty sake bottles). The other Nin that had been gathered earlier had been informed of the new change in authority and had long left, many to head out to the bars of Konoha to spread the word as quickly as possible.

"Are you sure this was a good idea, only telling a few like this?" Shizune asked quietly

"I'm positive." She nodded "Hatake has to tell Naruto in his own way. We couldn't risk telling any of his closer friends"

"Sakura is going to hit you through a wall when she finds out, you know that right?"

"I'm counting on it. If that doesn't knock my common sense back into me, I'll know I've made a sound decision."

"And if she doesn't…"

"Well, then I must have taken a gamble and won for once."

"Dear Kami we are all going to die…" She began muttering to herself.

"Oh, stop it. Kakashi won't do anything stupid, and if he does, he'll only have Sakura to answer to."

Shizune froze still from her heavy pacing "Please don't say you're sticking them together"

"Of course I am, she's the best girl for the job, and he's much more likely to listen to _her_ than to some anonymous paper pusher. It's not like I'm training her anymore, so she has to do something." She grinned, proud of her own office engineering skills

"I give it a month, possibly even less. Then one of us will have to come back."

"You don't have to leave if you don't want Shizune. You've long graduated as my apprentice, and you are capable of looking after yourself."

"I know that Tsunade, but you aren't. Without me, you'd be drunk and broke on a street corner somewhere."

"Ah, well you always meet the most interesting people on street corners…"

She sighed, "I give up."

"Good… trying makes you wrinkle and you already look older than I do."

"Don't push it" she snapped glaring out at the door.

Kakashi then reappeared in the room and wandered over to stand beside them at the oversized desk.

"How did it go?" Tsunade ventured cautiously

"Oh, he'll figure it out eventually." He shoved his hands in his pockets

"You didn't tell him then?" she sighed.

He shifted his one eye to glare at her "Do I look suicidal to you?

"You are both as bad as each other", Shizune grunted and began to walk out of the room "I'm going to say goodbye to a few people"

"Is it something I said?" Kakashi mock pouted behind his mask "I leave the room for five minutes and the whole tower evacuates."

Tsunade smirked at him "They've all gone to drink in the new Hokage and spread the word. You should join them."

"No, I think I'll be fine here. Let them have their fun without the watchful eye."

"You sound old already. Don't let it take over" she scanned his masked face in interest.

"As if I would? But you can ensure my head is going to stay the same proportions it has been for a while."

"I wouldn't count on that" she picked up her box of beverages and made her way out, stopping only briefly to say "It's only a matter of time before they insist on it being carved into the side of the mountain Hokage-sama"

Then she giggled and escaped before he could groan at her again.

He held up a hand with a deep sigh "Ja ne"

Surveying his new office, he couldn't help the feeling that it was empty somehow, like it was too big for him alone to fill, and it seemed no less intimidating than the many time he had been in this very room, on the receiving end of the 'Hokage talk'. _How am I ever going to get used to this…?_

Naturally, he did the only thing he could ever think of doing when boredom struck. He slipped into the Hokage's chair… _his_ chair, and flipped open one of his prized little orange books.

Hours later, Kakashi was sat at his new desk, attempting to read through some very boring mission reports as the light began to fade through the room. He was determined to get out before his eyesight failed completely, but his 'in' pile was still half the height of the 'out' pile, and there just wasn't enough gratuitous sex involved to keep him interested.

_You'd think a three on one ratio_ _of male and female Nin would keep this entertaining, but they never include the interesting parts of missions._

A soft thud of footsteps stopped his thoughts, but he refused to look up in case he read the same sentence for a ninth time, instead waiting for the visitor to speak to him.

Finally finishing the mission report, he settled it in the 'shove somewhere else once I find a filing system' pile, which was twice the height of the 'in' and 'out' pile put together. Then he reached over for another scroll from the 'in' pile, but was momentarily distracted by the presence he found close to it. His hand froze a few inches short of a white and red garmented kunoichi rump, and he couldn't help but to admire the view for a second, before picking up a scroll and beginning to read.

It didn't take long before his gaze slipped upwards again investigating more interesting material, but as soon as his gaze reached breast level, he forced himself to focus back on work. As he read through the first paragraph of the mission report, it became obvious that it was a rambler, and thankfully, he had already read two reports from the same team, so t was simply a case of scan reading and checking key details for consistency. _Damn genin… there's always one which has to act smarter than the others…_

Nothing came up, so it went onto the 'shove somewhere' pile as he reached for another scroll. He was puzzled at how the Nin at his desk had barely moved an inch, and yet hadn't even said a word to him. It was rude, more than anything, and no one would dare be so deliberate to the Hokage… no one except…

He let his gaze travel upwards, though this time, not to check her out, but to check his thoughts. Surely enough, past shoulder level the edge of her bubblegum pink ponytail came into sight and he felt like ramming his head into the table. Instead, he watched in interest as she played with her nails in front of her face, seemingly bored.

He couldn't help but wonder, despite the churning guilt at having shamelessly looked at a former student in that way, what exactly she was doing leant so provocatively on his desk. Of course, looking at her as Sakura, it did seem to be more lounging tiredly, but he had the alluring image set in his head now, and he couldn't think straight.

Giving up on the scroll in front of him, Kakashi leant back in his chair and sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well…" she started in a stoic tone "right now I _would_ have been working on my apprenticeship with the Hokage, but seen as she took it upon herself to retire without warning, and left an imbecile with no medical common sense in charge, I'm finding myself _without_ training, and _with_ a few dozen hours free here and there. So… I've decided to dedicate those precious, now wasted hours to annoying the hell out of you."

"You are certainly achieving your objective so far" he grumbled

"What did you expect, _Hokage-sensei_?" she turned on the desk to give him a dangerous smile.

"That's very disturbing"

"You don't think it's very disturbing that I only found out ten minutes ago; by _rumor_?"

"It wasn't up to me Sakura." he held a hand up defensively "Trust me, as soon as Naruto proves himself worthy, I'm out of this office as soon as possible."

"I'm _sure_ you are" she smirked and slid off the desk to walk towards him.

His current thought processes were not helping at all, especially not as her skirt stayed hiked up after sitting down and she had to smooth it down, her delicate fingers brushing over her curves. He scooted his chair back speedily as she got closer, and she couldn't help but to giggle at his nervousness.

She pushed herself between him and his desk, causing him to fight against any outward expressions of the very definite dry-mouthed feelings he was having right then, but then she turned, giving him another prime view of her small and perfectly formed backside as she reached into one of the drawers in the desk.

He relaxed slightly, figuring out exactly what she was looking for, and cursed himself for being a dirty old man as he forced a smile. "You won't find anything in there Sakura"

"Oh really?" she gave him a winning smile as she produced the small stack of little orange books she had been looking for.

His eyes went wide and his expression dropped. "But… how did you…?"

"I was apprenticed to Tsunade-sempai for almost five years Sensei; you really think I don't know _all_ of her hiding places?" She walked back to the other side of the desk with a victorious wink. "When I said 'I'm _sure_ you are', I meant it." She gave him a serious and slightly homicidal glare "Most of my training hours are once everyone has left, so we have a lot of time together. Alone. You're going to want to be out of this office as soon as possible, because I'm going to make sure whenever you are here, it's as uncomfortable as possible."

"Is there any particular thing I've down to cause this irrational psychotic attitude all of a sudden." He asked quietly, unknowingly gripping the arms of the chair he was sat in.

She cheered up, a delicate smile lacing her lips "Oh, mostly it's just for fun… and because I can."

"Well… that's only during nights at things right? I mean… you have hospital duties…"

She shook her head solemnly and the smile dissolved from her face. "I did when I was Tsunade's apprentice. I don't have any job there now."

"Oh…" he suddenly felt even more guilty than he had with just his perversions, even though it really wasn't his fault.

"But hey, bright side of life and all of that" she forced the smile back as she pocketed the books in her kunai pouch. "The same hand of fate that dealt me unemployment, dealt you just about the biggest promotion there is, so it's only right we stick together. Don't you think Hokage-sensei?"

"If you are going to be here constantly, can you at least stop calling me that? Pick one or the other."

"Hmm…" she tapped a fingernail against her chin in thought "One or the other? You know, it seems you get off on having power over people"

He coughed in surprise at words like that falling so idly from her lips "Wha-What...?"

"Would you mind if I called you… Kaka-kun?"

"Sakura, that's inappropriate." He glared.

"No, I think it's quite fitting for our little situation. I'd be the only one in Konoha who calls you that, right?"

He felt this conversation taking a turn for the worse, so he quickly pulled his chair to the desk and forced himself to start the paper work again.

"Hai… silent treatment. I thought as much. I'm just wondering if you're going to impose any ridiculous dress codes in here."

"Will it get rid of you if I do?" he complained

"No, it would just be useful knowing what to wear. I mean, I can't possibly dress like a medic Nin; that would be unethical, and I can't dress in battle gear…"

"Fine, just turn up in a bra and shorts" he grunted, desperate to get rid of her, but the mental picture just made everything so much worse. _Damn my gutter mind…_

She laughed lightly and meandered towards the door. "I wouldn't joke if I were you Kaka-kun. I might do it"

Before the shock could even register, she had left and the room was silent again, only the faint trace of her unique fragrance lingering in the air.

**AN: this will not be updated for a while I think, because MIA is still my baby, but but but but but… website: **** will have thingys and whatsits of information about the fanfics.**

**Sign up to the mailing list and I may even send teasers and things for the next chapter. **

**I may rewrite this at some point, but I still need reviews and feedback.**

**Stay shiny and Show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan XX**


	2. Idol

**AN: so it's not my best, but I'm tired and ill. I just needed to get something out while it was in my head. Please at least attempt to enjoy this…**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Two: Idol**

Kakashi wandered in to his new office with a tired sigh, eyes still half closed. He had actually attempted to get out of bed earlier than usual in order to get here and it was having a bad effect on his body clock already.

The bright light in the room didn't help anything and he was forced to wince from the pain in his eye as he stumbled towards the comfy chair on the other side of the office.

Almost as soon as he was moving again, a glimpse of something shifted just outside his range of vision, catching his attention. Rotating his head towards the movement, he was surprised to find Sakura walking across the office with a small pile of paper held to her chest, seemingly oblivious to his presence as she filed them away in a set of shelves by the wall.

He narrowed her eyes at her as he noted the corner of her mouth twinge upwards; knowing now that she must actually realize that he was there and was simply ignoring him.

"You're late," She said plainly, not looking up from her task.

He continued to watch her as he made the rest of the way to his desk and crashed into his chair. "Were you expecting any different?"

"No, I just thought I would comment."

He stared at her again, not really paying much attention to her words as he looked up and down her outfit. Unlike the night before though, he was not looking at her in a perverted manner, but more in wonder.

She was dressed in a very sensible short sleeved wrap over black top and cropped beige trousers with sandals. No unnecessary skin was on show, and nothing was too tight. Her hair was, as ever, tied up practically into a ponytail that reached to just above her shoulders.

"Um… Sakura-chan?"

"Hai Kaka-kun" she responded sweetly, turning to face him with her now empty hands held together at waist level.

He grimaced at the use of his new nickname. "What are you doing here?"

She tucked one of her bangs behind her ear with a patronizing smile. "I work here"

"Huh…" he began, but before he could question her meaning, she began to walk towards his desk.

"You have had three callers this morning while you were out" she picked up a piece of paper from the surface in front of her and passed it to him "Here is a list of all of the available mission requests, their rank requirements and who has requested them. The scrolls are at the side, so if you want to look closer at the details, just ask me.

"The sensei's for the Genin teams came earlier to ask for their missions, so I told them to train for this morning and come back later. You can expect them in probably around an hour's time.

"Jiraiya-san also came around wanting to congratulate you, but I told him you had a busy schedule this morning, so you can probably expect _him_ when you get out of here.

"The only other person who came was your ANBU strategy advisor, wanting to discuss your plans for the units there. I didn't even need to explain anything to him, so I don't know when they will try again."

"Oh… um, arigato…" He had no idea how to react; not only to Sakura's responsible actions, but also to how much he had missed by coming in half an hour later than Tsunade had suggested to him when she had coached him a few days earlier.

Taking the position as the sixth Hokage was going to be a lot more work than he had ever thought. As if to punctuate this thought, a knock came at the double doors of the office and Sakura made her way to answer it, not even checking if he was ready to receive visitors yet.

He heard only their voices as she addressed them just outside of the doors.

"Ohayou Maito-san"

"Sakura, oh blossom of youthfulness," the pathetically scary older man began in an over dramatic, tearful voice "I have finally heard the news of my eternal rival's promotion and have come to bow my head in defeat."

Kakashi couldn't help but to snigger, and Sakura obviously overheard this, as his smirk was soon wiped from his face with one sentence of her polite tones.

"Of course Maito-san, feel free to come in"

He felt like throwing something at her, and made this fact very obvious to her as she entered the room with Gai at her side. Especially as thanks to her tidying, he had nothing on his desk to occupy himself with.

Glaring at her sternly, he only became more and more annoyed as she nodded to him slightly, and then stood by the door to watch his frustration build. Gai looked over to him with tearful eyes.

"I did not think it possible for you to become even more superior Kakashi…Sama. I cannot ever hope to surpass you now" he sobbed "Such a proud and youthful Hokage you surely do make for this village…"

Kakashi rolled his eyes, but hidden under his hatai-ate on one side, it only looked like he was glaring off out of the window for a second. _I swear… if he doesn't shut up soon…_

"…it touches me that our blissful youth have such a cool role model, something that I cannot give them…"

He continued to zone out most of the unbearable man's gibbering for as long as he could before he would get upset that his 'eternal rival' was not replying. Even then, he just grunted out "Was there anything in particular you are here for Gai?"

Before he could think about what he just said, Gai had already begun his apologies. "Gomenesai Kakashi-sama, how foolish it is of me to interrupt your important time. After all…"

Kakashi sighed, knowing that this would take a while. One look at Sakura by the door told him that she was finding it very amusing, not the least bit irritated by Gai's longwinded and fanciful manner of expressing himself.

Not that he really should have been surprised by this, seen as Gai's younger clone had been trailing her since their first chunin exams, and often spoke in the same bizarre way.

She was struggling to contain herself from smiling at Kakashi's desperate expression, but then suddenly froze, her eyes going wide.

He half looked behind himself to try and figure out what she had seen, but when he found nothing and turned back to face her, she was gone. There was only him and Gai left in the room, with no sign of where she might have gone.

* * *

Sakura slipped out of the room quickly in preparation for what she knew was coming. Thankfully, his approach wasn't at some ridiculous lightning speed, so he might be easy enough to intercept before he changed in head first.

The orange teen turned the corner into the corridor with his head low, as though he was actually thinking for once. She had to admit that she was concerned. Of all the things she had anticipated in reaction, whether it would be flat out fury or tears, she had never expected him to think about his actions.

He looked up and noticed her standing there, only to keep walking at a slow pace until he was closer. Then he leant against a wall in the small reception area.

"Do you know?"

She knew exactly what he was talking about, but didn't want to upset him, so she kept her voice low and comforting. "Hai Naruto, I know"

"Is that why you're here?"

"Hai"

"Oh…"

She tried to assess his features for any sign of what he was thinking, or feeling, but for once he was not blatantly obvious about anything. In the end, she decided to confide some of her own feelings, hoping to stir a response from the abnormally subdued teen. "It's a little ironic, don't you think?"

He glanced up, only half paying attention "Huh?"

"After all of those years with Tsunade, I end up being _his_ assistant."

"You are what…?"

"I'm his assistant…" she noticed that his expression had altered to one of even deeper confusion and possibly even a flash of betrayal "Are you alright Naruto?"

"Can you tell me?" His eyes set back into a stern, confident gaze, but his voice was still ghosted with uncertainty.

"Tell you what?"

"Who it is"

Her mind snapped into place, and suddenly his expressions made sense. _So that's why he isn't angry… _"You don't know?"

"No, everyone is avoiding me." He pouted and fidgeted on his feet "Whenever I ask, people just go quiet. Kakashi-sensei told me to come and see him, but I couldn't find him anywhere"

"Oh… um…"

"Sakura-chan" Gai addressed her from behind, startling her "Kakashi-sama said that if I should see you, I should tell you that he wants to see you."

"He does?" _I thought he was desperate to get rid of me_

"Hai"

"All right, arigato Maito-san" she looked apologetically to Naruto, who gave her a puzzled expression, before she turned to open the doors into the Hokage's office. She felt terrible leaving him like that, when she knew exactly what kind of turmoil his thoughts would be subjected any time now, and knowing that by doing her job she was picking sides.

The door shut behind her and she knew it would only be seconds before Naruto either made the connection, or Gai told him the truth. As a result, she thought it best to talk to Kakashi as quickly as possible and strode up to his desk.

"You actually _wanted_ to see me?" She demanded critically, resting her palms on the wooden surface.

He scowled back up at her "Why did you leave so quickly? You couldn't have said something."

"I didn't realize you would miss me that much." She tried to tease, but her nervous voice failed her "There was something I urgently had to attend to."

"What could possibly have hap…?" he was cut off as Naruto barged into the room

His face was red with infuriation, making the marks on his cheeks stand out even further "Kaka-sensei!"

"Naruto calm down" Sakura tried, giving Kakashi a glance which told him all he needed to know. If he didn't understand her reasoning for leaving now, she would begin to wonder if she had over-estimated his intelligence by far.

"I can't believe you wouldn't tell me!" Naruto fumed, spinning to face them both in succession "Either of you!"

"Naruto, I…" She began to explain, but was cut off as Kakashi stood from his seat and held out a hand to stop her.

"Sakura, please go and stand outside in case anyone else comes along. Naruto and I have some things to discuss that have nothing to do with you"

She almost stopped, considering what would happen once she left them alone, but his commanding tone convinced her not to question him. Instead, she mumbled a quiet "Hai Kaka-kun" and then slipped back out of the room.

* * *

"Did she just…?" Naruto glared back at the door with wide eyes.

"Don't try to understand…" Kakashi sighed, and sunk back into his chair.

"Because I'm dumb?" Naruto snapped, his hands clenched "You think just because I'm not clever I don't…"

"Naruto, even I don't understand Sakura at the moment. Stop taking such an offence at everything"

"This is stupid. I refuse to accept that you are _Hokage_ instead of me. I could beat you in a fight." he crossed his arms and sulked.

"All right, I promised I wouldn't do this till you were calm, but you leave me no choice…" He leant forwards on his desk in an eerily Tsunade-like manner, but then realized what he had done and shoved his hands into his pockets. "_That_ is exactly why you are not Hokage." There is much more to this job than fighting, believe me; it's not easy. As it stands, you would go stir crazy within your first week, and will be just as frustrated as you were as a Genin; except, that your Genin missions were more interesting by far.

"I understand why you want this position Naruto, but right now, it's just not suited to you. No one is talking your title from you, and in all likeliness, I won't be here that long, so you won't have too long to wait. The only difference in the history books will be that you hopefully will have made jonin, and you'll be the Nanadaime, instead of the Rokudaime.

"Surely you have patience enough to cope a little longer before you lock yourself in a tower with the paperwork"

Naruto continued to scowl at him "You don't seem like you even want it yourself"

"Of course I don't. It's torture." He grinned at the younger boy from behind his mask, a visible eye crinkling "That's why I'm serious when I say that the sooner your training progresses, the better"

"I don't get it… why wouldn't you want to be Hokage? I would have thought sitting in an office all day doing nothing was your idea of heaven."

"No… doing _nothing_ is boring."

"You've got those books though…"

He shook his head "Sakura confiscated them"

"Why would she…?"

"I have no idea. She's bitter that Tsunade standing down means her loosing her medic's job or something. She's not here, so Sakura is targeting me."

"Oh… I didn't even think…"

"Me neither." He sighed heavily "Well… are you ok now? You aren't going to hit me or anything?"

"Would it help?" he grumbled

"No, but a week for you in a correctional facility might… or with Ebisu." He warned jokingly

"You wouldn't"

"I might. It is within my powers"

"I hate you"

"Good. I'm not here to make friends" he grinned again.

"I hate Sakura too" he continued

"Don't hate Sakura. She was just following orders; she hasn't done anything to you."

He turned to leave "She can't have been ordered to take this job. All jobs are optional"

"Wait…" Kakashi called him back; feeling puzzled "What job?"

Naruto kept walking, not in the mood to deal with Kakashi's mocks anymore, mumbling under his breath as he went. "Baka… how is _he_ Hokage…? It's so not fair…"

**AN: yeah, I know… it was still just setting the scene a bit. The plot may get better as things start to evolve. It's looking set to be a KakaSaku again (I'm so addicted), but is most definitely going to be very Kakashi centric. I may even start writing the rest mostly from his POV, if I write anymore.**

**I must say, I'm amazed at the feedback I got off the first chapter, and I hope this didn't disappoint.**

**I am not feeling well at all (I slept for more than 24 hours, only waking this morning with a crushing headache) so I would really appreciate review shaped medicine right now.**

**Apologies if I take a while to do anymore on any of my stories, because I am also loaded up to the ears in college work atm and I may suffer a mental breakdown if I'm not careful.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	3. Humor in context

**AN: I know I haven't updated in ages. Gomenesai, but I was very busy with MIA. Hope this isn't too off track from the last few chapters.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Three: Humor in context**

Almost as soon as the orange ball of pure aggravation had left the room, Sakura wandered back in casually with an unreadable expression on her features, a hand on her hip. "Are you bleeding?"

He tried to startle himself out of his thoughts and focus back on her "um… what?"

"Hmm…" she mused, a finger poised on her chin playfully "maybe not bleeding, but he might have caused some brain damage…"

"Who has?"

"Dear Kami, you are out of your mind this morning I swear." She shook her head in amusement and headed over to sit by his desk in a soft chair she had placed there "I was talking about Naruto. You know, the crazy one you stole the dream off? I thought he might have tried to hurt you."

He wasn't really listening, and didn't even pretend that he had been. "Sakura, explain to me again why you are here?"

She rotated her head to look at him, a frustrated glint to her eyes "I work here"

"You already said that once. How exactly do you work here?"

Her eyebrow raised, she lost the slight smile she had been hanging on to get her through the last day "You mean Tsunade didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?

His expression of surprise obviously set off her sense of humor again as she smirked away from him. "Oh, she is dead if she ever comes back to Konoha. I can't believe she wouldn't tell you I'm your assistant"

"Assistant?" he frowned beneath his mask and leant forward to address her more clearly "As in, fetching, carrying, organizing kind of assistant? Are you serious?"

"Would I be here otherwise Kaka-kun?" she let out a long breath "I shouldn't have said that…"

"so you have to do anything I ask of you?" he kept the expressions in his exposed eye stoic to annoy her, but also to avoid his dirty mind cycling all the current thoughts he had swimming around his head to his lips.

"Within reason" she shot him a killer glare and crossed her arms back over her chest "I'm your assistant, not your personal slave, so don't push it"

"Aww, Saku-chan, you spoil my fun"

"That wasn't funny seven years ago and it's still perverted now" she pointed out and leant back in her chair a little "when are you planning to grow up?"

"I am grown up. There's nothing wrong with having a little fun. Not to mention that hanging about up here bores me rigid"

"Another reason that _I_ am here."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You don't usually ask" she shrugged

"Fine then. You have spent the last few years inside that hospital, how do you keep so fit?"

She rotated her head to gaze at him curiously, taking an insinuation from his words that he didn't mean.

He swallowed hard at her accusing glare and attempted to correct her thoughts "No, I um… I just meant that you didn't have many missions and so I didn't know how you kept your exercise up, because you don't seem any more out of shape than you were before"

"You don't know how to maintain _your_ stunning physique without mission Kaka-kun?" she bit her lip to contain laughter as he felt himself heat up in the face. She stood up from her chair and wandered across the room towards the filing system. "You are far too easy. I exercise"

Then she made him oh too aware of this fact, bending down to reach the bottom drawer, which even in her sensible clothing seemed to accentuate what he had found himself ogling the previous day. The image of her stretching her body, covered in sweat and breathless invaded his imagination, causing him to feel very warm and quite aroused as he continued to watch her rear end. Despite the fact that he had seen her exercise during training sessions many times over hadn't any effect on the images his mind was conjuring up right now, seeing that daily activity for their kind in a completely different context.

_I really shouldn't still be staring like this…_ he found that he couldn't resist though, not especially when she leant forward to see what she was doing better, revealing a slither of lace above her waistband where her top was pulled taut further up her chest. _This isn't pedophilic…_ he told himself over and over, _she's an adult, she must be aware of how alluring she is; surely I'm not the first one to find my eyes stuck on her._

"Kaka-kun?"

He looked up and realized that she was standing upright again, smoothing the crumples of her top back to normal. Of course, this was unintentionally drawing his attention to her figure again and he shamelessly drew his eyes up the soft curves of her torso before reaching her face, which portrayed a very different emotion to those in his daydreams.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked warily, eyes shifting to her outfit briefly in case she had missed anything.

"I wasn't, I was um…" his eye caught something and he gave her a happy eye expression "I was just wondering what it is you have in your hand"

She didn't look convinced, but she went with it anyway "It's just a list of things Tsunade left for you to organize"

"Why would that be in the bottom drawer?" _just to taunt me with past student's…_

"She wanted you to be shocked when people bugged you about it not being done, so she hid it. Luckily for you, I know her too well."

_Hai, luckily for me… _"Wait, doesn't that mean more work?"

"It sure does" she smiled teasingly at him "but it means less people angry with you and in your first week in office- it's probably best not to piss off anybody else"

"What does she want then?" he sighed, sitting back in his chair to rest his feet up on the desk

"Well… most of it is rubbish, seen as between us; Shizune and I sorted it out before she left without her realizing." She strolled over, still reading it as she locked the fingers of her spare hand around his lower foot and attempted to push it off the wooded surface. He immediately resisted so she let some chakra into her hand to increase her strength. He soon relented and moved both of his feet back to the floor. "There are a few little tips about what makes the clan lords tick in case you needed it, but I suspect you have encountered them enough not to need her advice. Other than that, she's just written down a very important date you need to be aware of"

"What's that?" his eyebrow peeked in interest

"Apparently tomorrow, you need to get your Hokage robes fitted before your photograph is taken ready for your face to go on the mountain"

"Damn it" he groaned and stared out of the window

"What is wrong? I thought with your ego the idea of your face up there would fill you with joy" she may have said that out loud, but the amused edge to her features indicated that she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Sure, my face" he laughed low in his throat "more like my eye."

"It doesn't have to be that way" she winked playfully and leant with one hand on his desk. "I mean, would you really want _that_ to be your legacy as a Hokage?"

His throat went dry again at the sight of her and he began to wonder if she really knew what she was doing to him. He fought for the upper hand and decided to play back, undoing the first few buttons of his shirt as he put his other hand into his pocket nonchalantly. "I never realized you had that much of an interest in seeing me undressed Sakura"

Her eyes widened slightly at this but she soon regained her vaguely professional attitude "That's not appropriate Kaka-kun"

"Taking things out of context again?" he smirked, not that she could see but the tone in his voice gave the impression "I was just referring to that bet you have with Sasuke and Naruto. I didn't realize that you'd go as far as to try and guilt me into showing you"

"What did you think I meant?" she gave him one of those 'two can play at this game' smiles and leant over even more, giving him a full cleavage shot through the v-neck of her top "I meant your untidy appearance Kaka-kun. How you can expect to represent Konoha looking like you've just rolled out of bed I don't know, but I would personally be disgusted with myself."

"My appearance has nothing to do with you Saku-chan" he gloated for a second over her scowl at her new nickname "Unless of course, you find that it distracts you form your work"

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she tried hard to come up with an appropriate comeback.

He beat her to it "also, I have it on good authority that quite a few people wouldn't mind me looking like I have just rolled out of bed… or so they tell me after I roll out of their beds"

She stood up, annoyed now, "Alright, there is no way _that_ wasn't a direct sexual reference"

"I never said it wasn't" he shrugged

Her eyes went wider as she took a step back from the desk. "How can you be so blatant?"

"I'm not a blushing virgin. Try not to be so mistrustful Sakura, or people might think that you are."

"And why should I care what people think of me?" her hands placed themselves firmly on her hips

He delighted in the opening she kept giving him and took this one with a look of smoldering fascination "why? Because the first time is often a very sensual experience, and a lot of men get very turned on by the idea of being some woman's 'once in a lifetime experience'. Let someone know and you'll find yourself a target."

She looked very shocked to hear him of all people say things like that to her, and quickly changed the subject. "You have work to do. You have less than an hour until the genin teachers will come back"

Then she left, as quickly as possible, probably just to stand outside the door until her thoughts were straight, but he couldn't help feeling guilty about making her so uncomfortable. _What the hell… she's been making me uncomfortable since she arrived. That was fully deserved…_

* * *

Sakura knew she couldn't run away, not when she was on duty, but hearing those words come from _his_ mouth were just too shocking to look him in the eye seriously. She walked out, masking her chakra and finding a small corridor a little further down where she could lean against the wall and catch her breath. 

When she was sure no one was around, she finally let out all of her restraint… and laughed.

_Such a pervert…_ she giggled to herself, imagining the tone in his voice again. He had obviously tried so hard to affect her by being deadly serious, but after everything she had experienced with that man, it was all she could do not to laugh in his face. No, she couldn't do that if she wanted to get to him, he would probably take it as her being the same giggly 'blushing virgin' she was when he was her sensei.

Yesterday, Sakura reached a resolve. She theorized that if she was going to be forced into this ridiculous excuse for community service, the crime she had committed to deserve it still unknown to her, she was at least going to approach it with a mature attitude. In this case a mature attitude meaning that she would torture his mind without resorting to immature pranks and name calling.

As far as she was concerned, laughing at him would constitute a serious violation of her mature attitude theory and so something that she had to avoid in his company. Out here though, away from him, Hokage or not he deserved everything her emotions could throw at him.

She was becoming an increasing believer of the 'what you don't see can't hurt you' ideal every time she had to restrain herself during conversations with him. After the teasing she gave him last night, she had laughed herself to the point of stomach pains aswell, but today she found it difficult to last even that long.

He was just taking himself too seriously. If he had approached this job with the same irresponsible and flippant attitude he had teaching, then she would probably be too annoyed with him to keep up their current lightheartedness, but with his sudden responsible manner it was hard to find something to criticize him on. Not that criticizing him was something she set out to do, but with all of that time doing sweet nothing, she had to find something to amuse herself.

She struggled as her laughing fit began to progress beyond the controllable. Luckily for her, she was a silent laugher, but that didn't stop the fact that people were always walking through this part of the building on their way to his office. She heard soft footsteps nearby and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Do you need to go into hospital?" his deep voice asked distastefully

"Gomen…" she tried to calm herself and looked up to meet his criticizing gaze "Nani?"

"You looked like you were choking. Are you in pain?"

She couldn't help but to smile at him "No Hyuuga-san, I'm just amused. I take it you are coming back up to see Kakashi?"

"You have dropped the honorary term I noticed" he shifted his head slightly to the left in interest.

"Oh, you mean kaka-kun?" she giggled lightly again "I only say that to amuse myself"

"Obviously it works" his dry humor slipped out just before Tenten turned down the corridor to join them "that or you are self-prescribing to get back at the senior medics, which is just petty"

Tenten stood still with her hand on her hip in an aggravated gesture "Neji-kun! What are you doing down- oh, hey Sakura"

She shot a smile back to the older girl, but then noticed that her other arm was in a sling in front of her. "Whoa, are you alright Tenten?"

"Hai" she sighed "except that now I get the joy of being banned from ANBU missions until I'm healed up again"

"What happened?"

She shrugged "I can't remember a thing"

Sakura sighed reluctantly "of course, ANBU matter, you can't tell me"

"I _can_ tell you that there isn't a medic worth looking at in that scum hole of a hospital since you three left, and so my immensely fractured arm and rib bones have to heal the slow way." She grouched, then turned back to face Neji "why are you down here?"

"I just got sidetracked" he righted his shoulders to make himself seem more powerful, seen as unless he stretched himself to his full height, Tenten was taller than him and that made him slightly intimidated.

Sakura, having observed the relationship between the two evolve since they were around 15, had to cover her mouth to hide the full grin she let out at their obvious tension. During their casual conversations, Tenten had always been adamant that there was nothing going on between them, but her actions and his certainly signaled that if she was telling the truth, it wouldn't be long before something more did begin to develop.

The increasing amount of dry humor and euphemisms that Neji used in everyday communication was one sign of this that showed just how much Tenten effects him, since he never used that much, or even attempted to make any connection with other human beings, until Tenten began spending more time with him.

Recognizing that not only had she gone completely off her previous thought process, which was a good thing as far as she was concerned, but also that she was interrupting one of their 'moments', Sakura decided to stand up off the wall to leave. "Well, I need some air. Kaka-kun is present, finally, but generally tedious, so I'm not stopping you going in there and driving him insane with boredom in return. I probably will be back soon but don't let him know I talked to you alright?"

Neji narrowed his eyes slightly at her; taking into account the state he had found her in. "why would you say not to tell him that?"

She barely hid a smirk as she winked at them trustingly, "I'm trying to let him think I'm mad at him about something"

"And you aren't really?" Tenten smiled back, understanding the situation oh too well from experience.

"Nope, it's just funny when he guilt trips, I wish I could see his face because the expression in just one eye is enough to send me into hysterics."

"I get that" her eyes drifted towards Neji but quickly snapped back again "of course we won't say a word. Come on Neji-kun, we shouldn't keep him waiting."

"Arigato Tenten"

**AN: lost the plot here, it's just useless banter for now. I have bits written for later on but… yeah…**

**Ok, now this is really important: there is a new "Hokage-sensei" page at www()freewebs()com/belizma-kelli (replace () with a full stop) with a comments and ratings section at the end. If you subscribe to the notebook (on the homepage) then I will send updates to you including future teasers for the next chapter etc. **

**Please, even if you are not going to subscribe, at least drop a comment or something to make me feel loved. **

**Couldn't resist the NejiTen, I just luff the pairing (and only because there aren't enough others with Tenten that I have encountered and liked- LeeTen is sick and wrong). A lot of people say that as a writer when faced with a character like Tenten, you tend to impose your own personality in place of their absence of character, and I guess that's partially true for me, but in my defense she already did like weapons and seemed very cynical of Lee and Gai so there wasn't that much of me left to impose. I like her anyway.**

**Right, end of silly pro-Tenten ramble.**

**I actually watched a few anime episodes as research for this one, and I do realize that some of what Sakura says and does is seriously OOC, but it has been written for a while, so that is just going to have to be her for this story. The Neji humor is, however, completely founded judging by some of the asides between him and Tenten in one of the Shippuden episodes- don't ask me which one.**

**I really tried to write this as humorous but I'm not sure if it worked, so pleshies, feedback would be appreciated muchly. **

**I hope you liked the chapter but I say again, my time is stretched and limited, so it may be a while again until I can update.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	4. Incredible

**AN: I really hate this chapter. It took ages and was too hard to write and the only reason I'm even submitting it is because someone won't stop making my life one long string of blatant annoyance until I upload this.**

**As much as I would love to say, I promise it gets better, I'm afraid it really doesn't. I've written sections of it but it's kind of blah.**

**This story is still not my priority. **

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Three: Incredible**

"Hokage-sama, you should really have more of your face showing." The artist insisted as Kakashi stood nonchalantly beside the window, probably as close to posing as he was likely to get.

He smirked to himself at the red haired man nervously clutched onto his ink pen, obviously intimidated by the presence of his superior. In actual fact, Kakashi was more nervous about these inevitable discussions, something that he had dreaded from the second Jiraiya suggested the idea of him taking the post of Rokudaime.

He spoke as calmly as he could, going through the well thought up excuse in his head. "It wouldn't be my face if I showed it. Everyone in the village knows me like this. The mask is part of my legend."

"You do love yourself, don't you Kaka-kun?" Sakura smirked at him, standing against her desk as she looked up at him over the paperwork in her hand.

"No… I love you and you only Saku-chan." He joked with a low laugh, lapping up the relief from the monotonous task of standing still.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Sure… really not funny pervert."

The artist coughed uneasily to attract their attention in the most polite way he could. "H-hokage-sama…? I can come back…"

Kakashi laughed out loud again, noting how Sakura was still smirking to herself. "Just get it over with."

"Oh, um ok… but the hat…"

He stood closer, making sure that the older man felt the full effect of his height, and dropped the amusement in his tone. "That _thing_ is never going on my head, understand? I don't care what the elders say. The robe is as far as I go"

A sweet sounding voice broke the effect of the intimidation in seconds. "Afraid it's going to mess up your perfect hairstyle Kaka-kun?"

"Sakura…" he warned, resisting the urge to growl in frustration.

She smiled sweetly, just to let him know that she was teasing, and then returned to his work. All morning she had been completing the paperwork that he was too busy for, so he was certain that she must be feeling his frustration, but she didn't say a word to show it. Either she actually liked filling out endless forms and organizing mission scrolls, or she was a lot more professional than he gave her credit for.

"Hokage-sama?"

He returned his gaze to the still petrified, but now marginally bemused man he had previously had his attention on, and realized that he had gotten distracted. "Is there a problem Takumi-san?"

"No Hokage-sama, I uh… I think I have any reference I need. I'll have the plans by Monday."

"By all means, take your time."

"I will leave you to your work. Thank you for your time and assistance Hokage-sama" He bowed and went to leave the room.

"Takumi-san," Sakura called, and held out an envelope for him to take.

He took it, glad for her friendly smile, and bowed again before leaving the room hastily.

Once he had left the room, Kakashi fell back into his chair and let out a heavy sigh. Eyes glancing across the room, he met Sakura's gaze and immediately froze at her serious expression. "What?"

"You really weren't chosen for your interpersonal skills, were you?"

He shrugged carelessly. "Your point is?"

She brushed him off and switched back to professional mode again, placing a small stack of files from her desk into the filing system. "Have you sorted the issues with the Medical staff yet?"

"What issues?" He deadpanned.

"I take it then that you weren't listening to Tenten when she and Neji reported to you yesterday then. I don't believe for a second that she kept quiet about it."

"I had other things on my mind."

"Like what?"

"That is absolutely none of your business."

She turned around to face him, hand on her hip, but otherwise seemingly unaffected. "That's understandable; I'm nothing more than your assistant after all. Well, I did some research on the matter in case you couldn't find time to investigate it for yourself today. The details are in a file in your desk."

"Why would you do that?" He paused, his head trying to figure out a plausible explanation.

"I was training to be a medic. This is a medic related issue. Use your imagination."

"You missed the hospital?" He tried, but failed to conceal the disgust on his face.

"Something like that…" She sighed.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Apparently, medical standards have slipped lately, meaning that more shinobi are being forced to spend more time on mission ban."

"Yes, I have noticed that."

"Well, I challenged a few of the staff and they, as a primarily civilian taskforce, seem to have an objection to the chakra techniques that were being employed before. Many of them are not as confident in their abilities as they were when Tsunade was in occupation at the hospital, so they aren't using the proper protocol techniques."

"They do not have authorized permission for this, correct?"

"Yes."

He nodded to himself. "I'll sort it out later; Right now though I need to get out of these clothes."

"Why?"

He shrugged off his jacket. "They are uncomfortable and ridiculous."

"You can't not wear them."

"Tsunade didn't."

"Tsunade was on much better terms with the council."

"Sod the council." He leant forward, ready for the inevitable argument.

She merely smirked at him. "Shall I tell them you said that?"

"Sakura, if you are thinking of bribing me…"

"What would I have to gain from bribing you?" She asked as she took a step closer to his desk.

"I don't know Saku-chan, what would you _want_ from me?" He asked her in a mockingly sensual tone.

Determined not to rise to the bait, she gave him a misty glare as she spoke softly. "Oh, I don't think there is anything _I_ would want from _you._"

"Not even to see my face?" He raised an eyebrow pointedly at her.

"I doubt there's much worth seeing; especially seen as you are _so_ committed to keeping it hidden."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Do you have any evidence to prove me wrong?"

"I think I can probably find something…" He casually drew a finger to the edge of his mask, waiting for her tense reaction.

It didn't come, instead being replaced by a casual turn towards the door. "Get changed if you like. You have a Jounin meeting in half an hour, which I take not to hold too much importance for my presence, so I'll take my break now."

He watched her wander nonchalantly out of the room, his mouth open slightly in silent wonder. _I can't understand a thing about that woman… she's incredible._

* * *

She waited at the gate for their arrival, having heard of their return she had eagerly left the Hokage tower in search of her friends.

Team Ino-Shika-Cho had been on a two month long mission to Kumokagure in the land of lightning and was only just returning today; unaware of what had been going on in the last week in their own village. Most Nin who were conducting missions away had been sent notices of the change in leadership, but these three had been so close to returning, there seemed no point.

It wasn't long before Ino's bouncing blonde hair came into sight, and Sakura couldn't help but to smile at her upbeat expression. Chouji was first to notice her standing there and grinned ear to ear before yelling out "Sakura-chan!"

Ino caught on and ran towards her best friend, eliciting a muttered 'troublesome' from Shikamaru. "Since when did we get a welcome committee when we come home?"

"It's just today Ino. Everyone else is in a meeting with the Hokage"

"We missed it? Damn shame" Shikamaru smirked as he wandered passed casually to lean against a nearby wall, taking out a cigarette as he did so.

"Never mind." Sakura rolled her eyes, "How was Kumokagure?"

Ino beamed "It was dreamy. The hot springs there are to die for."

"Sure, you and Shikamaru barely left them" Chouji smirked, dropping a fairly obvious hint.

"Oh really?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at Ino "Were they segregated?"

"Not the private one they were taking advantage of." Chouji laughed and Ino blushed bright red.

She was eager to change the subject, so she went to criticize Sakura's outfit as usual, before she realized something. "Sakura, why are you in civvies when there's a meeting going on? Surely you should be there?"

"No, I have no place in a jounin meeting." she smiled weakly.

Ino's eyes went wider, as did Chouji's, "Were you fired?"

"I was," she sighed "but I have another job now, one which doesn't need me in stupid tactics meetings most of the time"

Shikamaru scowled, wondering if something had happened with Tsunade already, "Most of the time?"

"Well, sure I have to go to some, but it's not essential that I'm there anymore"

"I don't understand" Ino commented

She smiled nervously, knowing what she had to say, but reluctant to say it. "Well it helps if you are the Rokudaime's assistant."

They all froze still in shock. Ino turned to make sure that her teammates had the same reaction, before she swiveled back to Sakura, "Rokudaime? Have we missed something?"

"Long story or short?" she asked quickly, deciding whether to join Shikamaru by the wall.

"Short please" Shikamaru answered, not really wanting to hang about.

"Tsunade retired. We have a new Hokage."

Ino rolled her eyes "Well duh. Long version now…"

Sakura leant beside Shikamaru, gesturing for him to give her a cigarette. He glared for a few seconds, then reluctantly handed her one, letting her light it off his as she held it in her mouth. She inhaled to calm herself then breathed out a long trail of smoke, causing both Chouji and Ino to wrinkle their noses in disgust.

"Basically…" she began "She decided that she'd had enough, and took Shizune, Tonton and my apprenticeship with her. She didn't want Naruto in charge yet though so someone else took up the position of Hokage until he's ready."

"Who's the new Hokage then?" Ino asked with wide eyes.

"Hatake Kakashi"

"Your old sensei Kakashi?"

"Hai, the one and only…"

"And you're his assistant?" she mocked, a grin on her face "Ouch, that has got to be awkward"

"Sure, make fun now. Just wait and see what happens with him in charge of the village."

"Still, this is hot gossip. I'm off to find ways to milk this for all it's worth." she grinned ear to ear before wandering off further into the village. "Choj, come on, I'll buy you dinner."

He ran to catch up with her, leaving her alone with Shikamaru.

"Sucks to be you," he commented, lifting his cigarette to his mouth.

"Ditto," she laughed "Onsen time with Ino? It must have been torture."

He shrugged "It's harmless. She's just imagining things as usual."

Sakura shook her head and took another breath of cigarette smoke.

"You know, I never took you as a smoker." he remarked, gazing at the sky.

"Not many people do."

"Why do you do it?"

"The same reason you do. I got a taste of it once and now I'm addicted."

"Hmm…" he drawled doubtfully.

She let a small smile grace her lips "And it gets rid of Ino."

"Why do you meet her if you don't want to be near her?"

"Someone had to tell you all. I was just on my way to talk to someone."

He rotated one eye to look back at her in interest "Who?"

"Does it matter?" she grumbled defensively.

"Ah… him" he nodded, criticizing her with his eyes.

She dropped her head low. "Don't look at me like that."

"I'm not" he sighed, then stared back up at the sky.

"Am I that transparent?" she asked nervously, shifting her feet.

"Sakura, you've been doing the same thing since he came back."

"He didn't _come_ back, you dragged him."

"Would you rather I killed him?"

She didn't reply, placing the cigarette she held into her mouth to signal that she didn't want to say anything as she leant back.

"When are you ever going to get over him? You must be the only one in the village who still hangs on."

"Sure, and you don't hang onto anything at all, do you?" she nodded towards the cigarette he held.

"_I_ don't deny it."

"I'm not in love with him." she continued to defend herself.

He stood up and looked at her, hard, before turning away to follow his teammates. "I don't care."

She stood stunned for a while as she watched his silhouette disappear into the distance, then looked down at her own cigarette and mumbled quietly, "Asshole."

**AN: This continues in the next chapter. Sorry it's short and rubbish. You can probably guess who 'he' is, if you have read another fanfiction… ever. No it isn't going to become a pairing, I would rather chew my own deformed foot off than pair Sakura with him, there may be undertones though, just because I need another level in this story.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	5. Eternity

**AN: Been a while. I've had the makings of this chapter, and the rest of the story for a very long time, but I've had a bit of a brain absence so it has taken me a long time to join the dots. **

**Decided to write this because my sister is upset and this is her favorite of all my fanfictions. This, however, is not an indication of more to come. I am still unofficially on hiatus as I don't really have time to write much atm.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Five: Eternity**

Not long after, she had finished her cigarette and headed in the opposite direction towards the high-security unit he was kept in. It seemed that all she had done during that day was to inform people who didn't already know, but this was set to be her last errand before she could retire to the comforts of making Kakashi's life a misery.

As much as she hated to admit it, Shikamaru was right; she had been doing this a lot more than most people thought since his return, but not quite for the reasons he had thought, and not as frequently over the last year. As it was, five months ago she had told herself not to do it anymore, and she had tried to forget him, but with all her old memories of team 7 resurfacing themselves, she couldn't help herself.

Almost subconsciously she checked her own appearance in the glass window of a nearby building, fully aware that she would be a lot different to how he remembered her. Of course, she didn't care and it never made a blind bit of difference; if gaining a female figure, wearing more leather and changing her hair more times than she had completed missions had never made a difference before, why would anything else?

It actually made her laugh under her breath just how boring and average she looked now, compared to some of her extravagant mating calls from previous years. Why exactly Shikamaru or anyone would get the impression that she still fancies her personal convict was anyone's guess, other than the fact that not even Naruto would visit him.

The guards didn't even think twice now when they saw her, knowing who she was visiting and who she was, but she needed to tell them about the changes in the village more than anything. They were separated for long periods from the rest of Konoha, and so the news would not have reached them yet.

The two large men looked up briefly from their posts to acknowledge her presence before ignoring her once again on impulse.

"Daiki-san." She addressed to draw the smaller of the two's attention.

He sighed heavily and wandered over to her casually, hands in his pocket. "Yo Haruno-chan."

"I have news."

"Who from?" His expression lightened softly as he flicked his dark hair from his face, though his body language was more that of bemusement, obviously wondering what the medic could possibly have to tell him.

"The Hokage."

He smirked almost perversely and waved over his companion. "Hiroto, Tsunade-sama sends word."

The other man stomped over with a warm grin. Sakura couldn't help thinking of a bear when she saw him push off his seat inelegantly, with his shaggy brunette hair and a beard in desperate need of some one-on-one time with a kunai.

She smiled back slightly, not in the least intimidated by these large jounin, "I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but Tsunade has left Konoha. We have a new Hokage, announced just a few days ago."

"Really? I wouldn't have expected that for a while." Hiroto looked a little stunned, but not enough to be distinguished as any committed response.

"So what now?" Daiki scowled, "That idiots in charge and he wants us to let Uchiha out?"

"I wouldn't call the legendary copy ninja names like that." She continued to grin, knowing that he was referring to Naruto. "I've seen what he's capable of."

"Hatake Kakashi?" His eyes widened, "He's the new Hokage?"

She nodded, satisfied with her amusement for the day. "I thought you might appreciate being informed."

"Sure. We'll pass on the message to the rest." Hiroto told her with a grunt.

"Arigato. Now if you'll excuse me…" She signaled to inside the doors.

"You are still visiting him?" Daiki wondered as he looked her over with the same glance she had given her own reflection less than ten minutes ago.

"No, I just have to give him a message."

* * *

Sakura approached in silence and sat on the familiarly small stool outside, looking in through the bars at the dark figure. Usually, if someone wished to visit a prisoner, they would be taken to a secure room and accompanied by multiple guards, but right from the start things had been different with him.

He refused to see anyone, and refused to talk, but due to her persistence they had come to this arrangement. For the first few years of his imprisonment, that stool had been her second home as she tried in earnest to get some reaction out of him, but not one grunt of hatred or otherwise reached her intent ears.

The edges of his pale profile reflected the light from the corridor enough to let her know that he was looking at her from over his shoulder, although it was almost definitely more out of curiosity than interest. Her hands no longer shook at the sight of him, and no longer did she feel like crying, but it still broke her heart to think of him stuck in this dark place. She ran a hand casually through her hair and leant back against the wall behind her, letting the chill of the stone calm her.

"I need to think some things through." She said quietly, knowing that he would either not listen, or not care. "So much has happened, and it's not all good…"

He shifted to walk stiffly to the hard bed, ready to ignore her for the long term.

"I'm really not sure where I am anymore… I've lost my apprenticeship, my job, my friendships… even Naruto hates me… I'm not here to complain though. It's no use looking here for support, I know that. You used to tell me, once upon a time, that you don't care. Even if lately you are so quiet… there's something you should know."

He looked up at her again, or rather looked in her general direction. It still hurt his eyes to try and see too much.

She took a deep breath and averted her gaze from his eyes. "Tsunade is gone. I don't know what will happen to you now. The thing is… its Kakashi."

He visibly scowled, not fully comprehending what she was going to say but irritated by just the sound of that name.

"Naruto didn't get the job. You could probably tell by now though, or he would have come and seen you. Kakashi… he's the Rokudaime."

His eyes went wide and he stood again, taking a step towards her. She instantly flinched, not even feeling secure with steel bars and a chakra block between them.

"I-I'm not lying." She almost squeaked, "I have to work for him because it's the only job left I can do without becoming a civilian. Naruto is furious."

"Hn,"

Her eyes lit up a little at the vague and croaky sound of his voice. "I just thought I should tell you. I don't know what will happen to you… with him it could go either way."

"You are with him?" He growled low in his throat, not in spite, but just because his voice was so out of use.

She gulped down the breath she had been holding "I am his assistant, yes."

"Then you'll get me out." His eyes bore into her threateningly.

Gathering up every drop of courage left in her, she stood up from her stool to address him directly. "What… what makes you say that?"

"You want me out…" He gave her a pointed look as he positioned himself against the bars in about as close to an evocative position that someone who'd been alone most of their life could manage.

She was shocked herself, not only by his desperate actions, but by the fact that they did absolutely nothing for her. "Why would I?"

"Sakura…" Her name sounded so sensual with his husky voice, but she barely recognized it. "You know I have something left to do."

She felt nothing but repulsion, and had to restrain herself from spitting in his face as she ground out her reply, so long in coming. "Rot in darkness."

Spinning hastily, she didn't look back once before charging out of the door, her heart beating so loudly in her chest she thought she was going to go deaf. Relief washed over her as she fled the prison that had wasted away her social life for years and before she knew it, she was smiling. _I, Haruno Sakura, have actually just turned down Sasuke! This pretty much tops my whole life!_

_

* * *

_

She was still grinning ear to ear as she reached Kakashi's office, and quickly had to remind herself not to look like a giddy schoolgirl when she went inside. Smile now controlled to the proportions of her face, but unable to remove the bounce in her step, she opened the door and quietly sat down at her desk.

"Genma." She remarked as she noticed him leant beside Kakashi on the other desk.

"Ah, Sakura…" He smirked back, turning his head around to face her. "Still getting babysat?"

"She's not a child Genma." Kakashi corrected him.

He laughed boisterously. "Don't I know it? She's a bloody Amazon!"

"You're outrageous." Sakura laughed along.

Kakashi, increasingly irritated by their friendly nature, gave Sakura a stern warning. "Saku-chan, stay away from that man. He's a letch and a troublemaker"

"I'm well enough aware of that fact." She glared back at his patronizing tone.

Genma mock shoved Kakashi light-heartedly. "_Saku-chan_ and I are old friends, ne?"

"Sure, if you want to call it that." She rolled her eyes.

"I don't want to know…" Kakashi grumbled disapprovingly.

"Well then _dad_," Genma teased. "I'd better be off if you're gonna start being all responsible and boring."

"That's a joy saved for my presence?" Sakura cocked her head at him. "Lucky me…"

"See you later _Saku-chan._" He winked and strolled out of the room, twirling his senbon absent-mindedly across his lips.

"Shikamaru just visited." Kakashi pointed out to her, keen to not draw any attention to his older friend's previous presence.

"Oh?" She looked up at him, his serious tone spoiling her mood slightly.

"How long have you been going to see Sasuke?"

She held back a laugh at his ignorance. He must genuinely be the only person left in Konoha who had no idea that she talked to him, which just showed how much he valued her as a student. "That's a pointless question."

"Fine, you saw him today at least."

"So?" She became suddenly defensive, not wanting Kakashi to think she was the same little girl who couldn't let go. "I don't care, so leave your opinion to yourself."

"Sakura it's pointless trying to criticize you." He sighed. "I was merely wondering how he was progressing."

"Go see him yourself." She stood up and walked over to his desk to pick up the increased pile of mission reports in his 'shove somewhere' pile, needing to keep busy.

"Don't be spiteful." He spoke down at her, gripping hold of her wrist so that she wouldn't use filing as an excuse to wander off. "I will go and address him, but his review is approaching, so I was merely asking a second opinion."

"Fine, you want my opinion?" She spoke stoically, throwing his grip off of her. "I won't vouch for him. Keep that bastard in his cell."

Kakashi's shock was evident from the silence that echoed around the room. He waited until she had calmed down a little and the fire in her eyes had returned to their usual intensity before he spoke again.

"I never thought I would hear you say those words. Are you bitter because of his silence regime?"

Leaning against the desk beside him, she smiled cautiously to herself, careful not to let her thoughts slip out again. "Not at all, he's _very_ talkative recently."

This, more than anything she had said or done previously, disturbed Kakashi as thoughts spun through his head he couldn't control. "What did he do?"

She glanced over to him to have her eyes met by what she almost interpreted as worry. Fearing that he was letting his thoughts become too serious again, she gave him a quick wink and returned as best as she could to her previous good mood. "It's private and nothing to do with you. You've heard my opinion, ignore it if you want but that's all you are going to get."

Stacking up the reports as before, she took advantage of his confusion by sauntering her way over to place them on her desk, intending to check them over for anything he would have missed due to distraction. Then a brain wave hit her and she remembered something she should have reminded him about before she had left to meet Ino and the others.

"I'm assuming you completely forgot about the medic issues during the briefing."

"Um… I uh…" He scratched the back of his neck nervously as she turned to face him again. "Oh no, wait, actually it was brought up, but I couldn't find that stuff you told me about, so it couldn't really be talked about."

"Did you actually look for it?" She frowned.

"Well, yeah, but I couldn't remember which draw you said…" He wandered over to kneel beside the desk, intent on looking for the information as a means to get all Sasuke-related scenarios out of his head.

"Bottom draw on the right." She reminded him, walking over to help him look.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking through the draw to no avail.

"Well that's where I put them." She told him, casually leaning over his desk to get a better look.

"I know, and I trust you not to lie, but either I'm not looking closely enough or they aren't there. Is there any-" He cut himself off as he moved his head up to face her and misjudged the distance completely, ending up with their faces plush to each other, her warm breath tickling the skin beneath his mask.

They both remained frozen in silence for a second that stretched out like eternity, hearts beating faster at their proximity. Eyes locked, Sakura could see for herself how nervous he was, and how desperately he was searching his brain for some way to get out of the situation without any further embarrassment.

She let out a brief sigh, which surprisingly made Kakashi sit back with a clouded expression, almost falling over his own feet. "Sakura… have you been smoking?"

"Huh?" She stayed motionless, stunned by his bluntness and wondering whether he had just said that for an excuse to get away. Then she figured out what he was talking about. _My breath…kuso..._ "I uh…"

"Weren't you supposed to be the one to lecture about things like that?"

Hiding her irritation, she leant up on her elbows with a half smirk, quietly remembering his comments the other day. _Blushing virgin? Can't have him thinking that…_ "What I do in my private time with Shikamaru is absolutely none of your business."

He glared at her for a second, more out of curiosity than anger, before taking off his robes with a heavy sigh and wandering towards the door, hands in pockets.

"W-what are you doing?" Sakura stood up from the desk, arms crossed over her chest in annoyance.

"I'm going home."

"But… the file…"

"Ja ne Saku-chan," he waved over his shoulder as he left.

_Just when I think I've got him… _Sakura thought aggravatingly to herself, _he always manages to do something more stupid and pointless._

**AN: Hints are a bit more blatant now, with some tension in the mix. Hope it's not too little to satisfy the thirst after the great almighty drought of 2008.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	6. Limit

**AN: Still officially on hiatus… but it does seem that I've run out of interesting things on mysoju to procrastinate with.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Six: Limit**

Sakura was reaching boiling point. The previous night, after the unbearable tension she had been putting up with all day she had decided to go for a relaxing drink in the local bar only to find him there as well. She had gone straight home and screamed into a pillow for a good half an hour before she realized that she was actually letting him get to her.

Why it was that he needed, at that very moment, in that very bar, get completely wasted was a complete mystery to her and only served to ice her hatred and frustration for him. Then to have the audacity to turn up the following _afternoon_ with complaints of a splitting headache and covered in sweat from head to toe, was probably the worst mistake in her book that he had made in his entire life.

She had to turn away all potentially important visitors and fetch and carry limitless drinks of water to and from his desk, while putting up with the fact he was being a miserable pain in the arse, for whatever reason he had decided to get himself stressed over. She now regretted having wished that he was as much as an utter failure as he had been as a sensei, realizing how intolerable he could possibly be in comparison to his recent sensible turn. Soon she found herself wondering exactly what kind of mess was inside his head to make him behave like he had as she watched him almost falling asleep as he read a mission scroll, head in his other hand.

"Kakashi! Are you even…? No… of course you aren't listening to me; you never have and probably never will… I have no idea why I even bother to do my job when it obviously doesn't do any good. Even without Icha Icha you spend half of your time reading something instead of listening to the highly important and actually relevant things I try to tell you."

"It's about the only way I can keep myself from going insane." He slammed the scroll in his hand down onto the desk in defeat, his temper on a short tether.

"_Going_ insane? What's reading got to do with that? You better not be implying that my talking to you drives you insane, because I swear if you are I will walk straight out of this office and just let you fall apart without my help." One look at his irritated stare answered her questions without him even having to reply. "You were just spewing nonsense at me to get me to shut up, weren't you?"

He sighed heavily and shut his eye. "I don't need depth perception to read."

Stunned, her mouth stayed open for a few more seconds before she looked away nervously. "Oh… I didn't realize that worried you."

Kakashi became suddenly nervous; having admitted something he wasn't used to, and almost shocked himself that he had told her when he knew that it would only result in hours of her lectures.

"It- It doesn't, not really. I'm used to it after all this time, the readings just a coping mechanism, that's all."

Sakura caught his eye contact again and sat on the edge of his desk. "Do you think that has something to do with why Tsunade named you as her successor?"

"It had everything to do with it. She told me so herself; She said I put too much strain on the sharingan and needed the rest. Part of the reason I hate being here so much… it makes me feel old."

"You aren't old, you're 33."

He almost laughed at the notion. "Even Genma sees me as his senior."

She reached forward and rested a hand on his arm as it lay sprawled across the desk beside her, trying to add grounding to her words. "You are _not_ old."

Of course, there was no way in hell he was going to let that become a 'tender' moment, as it would completely defeat the object of the seething hatred/ blatant staring relationship they had developed in the last week or so since he had become tragic leader of the blind or stupid, so he opted for a barely concealed smirk that he hoped to pass off as a perverted tweak in his facial muscles. "Prove it."

She stomped off from his desk briskly with a scowl that had him thanking stars she hadn't felt inclined to physical violence. "Urgh, you unconstrained pervert! I think you just proved it entirely for yourself. Dirty _old_ man!"

"I'm hurt Sakura. I thought for a second then you might have had some compassion for your _old_ sensei." He laughed.

Biting the inside of her lip to restrain herself, she walked over to her desk as calmly as she could manage before replying to him in a gentle tone. "Hai Hokage-sensei. Gomenesai."

He stopped laughing instantly. "Stop that."

"Just actually try and listen to me when I talk, ok?" She asked him genuinely, deciding to try the direct approach. "It's not as if I would actually want to talk to you if it wasn't important."

The bewildered, almost hurt expression on his face went completely unnoticed as she busied herself with work again, determined to avoid him entirely.

* * *

The following morning Sakura bounced out of her apartment with the pure intent to do absolutely nothing in the way of work in favor of shopping, on the grounds that she had found her stash of civilian clothes a lot more limited than she had imagined after a week of non-shinobi garb. It was a good feeling to know that no one could possibly ruin her day today unless by some miracle she actually decided to feel guilt about what she had left her new annoyance to deal with, which was not a likely possibility.

She was determined to let nothing throw her off course; not even an immediate confrontation by two people she was fairly sure _never_ spoke to each other, never mind spent time together in the mornings on the way to work, or whatever they were there for.

"Hey Forehead! You aren't going to work dressed like that are you?" Ino smirked as she glanced over Sakura's short beige skirt and red tank top, clothing that she rarely wore unless heading to a bar of some kind.

"Like hell I am." She laughed and kept walking, noting that the two women were following her. "What are you doing here Tenten?"

"What do you_ think_ I'm doing here? I can't exactly throw much with my good arm all tied up, can I? Not that it really should hold me back, because I have trained for years to become ambidextrous, but it still leaves me with an insane incapability to do anything productive…"

"Is there a point somewhere in this uncharacteristic rambling?"

She sighed heavily, "I have nothing better to do, and pretty much everyone else is on a mission, or worshipping the gods of alcohol in the great white telephone."

Sakura giggled to herself at the always capable girl's hopelessness. "What about Neji?"

"He's playing shogi." She grunted dejectedly.

Ino cut in with a similar tone, "With Shika-kun, hence…"

"Why you two are walking together, ok I get it."

"Remind me again why you aren't at work." Ino asked nosily. "Last time I checked the Hokage doesn't really get days off."

"No, he doesn't. He seems to think I have nothing better to do than to just keep him company when he goes mad, which I may add he does at least twice a day, so I've booked today off in the pretense of actually having something better to do. When he finally realizes in about twenty minutes that the council elders were waiting for him at least an hour ago and are now almost as furious as I am with his lazy and irresponsible attitude, maybe he'll rethink his treatment of me as some kind of desk ornament."

"That never worked when Shizune did it to Tsunade." She pointed out, trying to be clever.

"Tsunade had two rather valuable assets for persuasion that Hatake lacks emphatically." Tenten smirked at Ino's naivety.

"Tenten!" She gasped. "Firstly, wow, if I knew you could be that perverted we'd have been friends a lot sooner. Secondly, 'emphatically'? That's got to be a Neji word right?"

"Is she being serious?" Tenten asked Sakura.

"I know, it's hard to believe, but yes she is." She laughed along at the banter between them.

Ino, sharp as ever, completely ignored that they had spoken due to the fact she had barely understood either of them and instead changed the subject completely. "So, you are really trying to whip the Hokage Sakura?"

Spinning on her heal, she brought the entire group to a stop in the middle of the street. "Ino, that's completely absurd. Where would you even get that idea?"

"I heard you call him Kaka-kun."

Her eyes shot wide, barely registering what her friend was implying. "Kami, I'm not attracted to him or anything!"

"I never said you were. That's just what I do when I'm trying to mold people to my will, hence why I call Shikamaru Shika-kun."

Tenten lifted an eyebrow at her in curiosity. "That has nothing to do with the fact that you are completely brainless for him?"

"What?!" She protested, face suddenly bright red. "I am so not… there is absolutely no way you could know… he's just my lazy bum teammate, he's..."

"Ino, face it." Sakura laughed, "You can't speak a word around him without blushing."

Her shoulders slumped in release. "You're right. I'm hopeless. I have no idea why, or when it started, I just… how am I supposed to tell him?"

"He already knows Ino." Sakura told her carefully, as though she was talking to a child.

"He what?!" She actually seemed happy at this notion; as though it would somehow translate to mean that he felt the same way.

"He's a genius, remember? He probably knew before you did."

"Oh my god, you're right! I can't believe I didn't think of that! I have to go shopping right now. Come on, let's go shopping." Before they knew it, she had run ahead, towards the shopping district of Konoha at full speed.

Tenten and Sakura exchanged weary glances, both dreading what was going to come of this.

"I don't honestly know how much more of her I can take." Tenten grumbled, fingers itching for the scrolls she left at home.

"I know exactly what you mean; and yet, even after over 10 years of this, I'm still not rid of her."

"Are you planning to tell her that Nara actually can't stand her?"

"No. Today I'm in a good mood, and that's the way I plan for it to stay." She grinned at her, having planned her safeguard long in advance. It would be so much easier to torture Ino with the fact that Sasuke could have been all hers days ago than if she had just told her the news right away. "Even if she drives me to the edge, I think telling her that Uchiha Sasuke practically threw himself at me and I turned him down should probably sedate her enough to keep her tolerable."

Tenten blinked slowly in response. "You did what?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the great copy-nin Rokudaime of Konoha was quietly cursing under his breath as he sat uncomfortably in his Hokage robes on the bench set out for him. The dark room didn't intimidate him, but certainly didn't help to lift the mood caused by the small group of impossibly old morons stood opposite him.

He had spent the whole morning feeling unbearably guilty, for whatever it was that had obviously upset his reluctant assistant, only to check with Kotetsu (who had been left to fill in for her) and figure out that she had deliberately booked the day off, hours before she had finally snapped at him yesterday afternoon. He therefore assigned himself to having no guilt whatsoever, and transferred it to seething irritation that she had neglected to tell him of the very important meeting he had to attend.

It was true that he didn't pay much attention to anything unless he heard his name mentioned somewhere, which he had gotten away with so far as he had pretty much stayed in his office while everything else just happened to him, but he'd now he had been fully caught out on the one thing that did require the Hokage to leave the tower. It was embarrassing, which alone was annoying for him, but he knew that should he scold her for this, it would be admitting the fact to her, which would make things infinitely worse.

The very fact that they refused to sit down seemed to imply one thing; they did not wish to waste too much of their time on him. Whether this was a good thing or not was yet to be decided, but the scowls on their almost liquid faces was not the best omen.

In the end, there was nothing these cadavers could say or do within a short space in time that could rob him of his job, but they did hold power over the village which they could easily call upon to undermine him if they thought it was necessary. This meant, effectively, that they held power over him, and although they could not order him to do as they wanted, Tsunade had warned him that it would definitely be in his best interest to do exactly as they suggested.

This review was the only thing that had held him back so far from passing some of the stupid rules that the majority of Konoha expected him to, and he was eternally grateful that his terrible binge a few days ago did not result in any of those things coming to pass by accident. It was bad enough that yet another nameless girl now had the claim to have slept with the hokage, whether he remembered the event or not.

"Hatake Kakashi." One of the elders spoke in a deep voice, not that he could distinguish which one without straining his eye. "Your reputation precedes you across continents."

"Thank you?"

"Do not assume that this is a good thing."

"I don't. Your tone was unclear."

The scowl deepened itself into the crevasses of the man's face, signaling finally which one had been speaking to him. "You are to show greater respect towards those with greater wisdom than yourself. This is one of the elements of your reputation you must work on if you seek comfort in your life as Hokage."

The woman beside him spoke next, in a scratchy tone that grated on his ears. "It has been too long since we have had a figurehead capable of holding up a respectable family image."

This being one of the few things they could possibly have said that would send a shiver down Kakashi's spine, he gulped. "The third wasn't respectable?"

"In his day, of course, but that was ever such a long time ago in society's eyes. With Konoha's fall in population after the numerous attacks in recent years, the council believes there would be a benefit in having a leader who is inclined towards a domestic continued relationship."

"So you want me to…"

A third speaker, obviously Hyuuga from his bearing, grunted incredulously from behind the others. "Get a public girlfriend and stop the one night stands."

"Get lost." He scoffed back.

"You can't do it?" The woman asked with a mocking tone.

He almost laughed in desperation, scarcely believing what they were asking of him. "Do you have any idea what would happen to someone if I were to date them publicly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I am popular in Konoha for more than one reason." He glared at them. "If I dated someone they would be destroyed by half the population of Konoha out of jealousy."

The first man replied in a stern voice, anger laced in the undertones of his intent. "I strongly suggest then that you date someone capable of defending herself."

Kakashi sighed, recognizing that he was fighting a losing battle. "Do they have to be female?"

"Of course she does." The woman laughed at him as though it was the most obvious thing possible, "You _will_ eventually be expected to marry her."

"This is insane."

"This, is your duty." The Hyuuga recited.

"By Monday." The first man added, seemingly enjoying the chance to watch him squirm.

Dread almost forced the voice entirely out of Kakashi's throat. "Monday?!"

"Monday." He repeated harshly.

Soon only one thought was circling through Kakashi's head as he desperately tried to cling onto his sanity, and he suddenly understood just why everyone seemed to fear the council of elders. _Kuso..._

_

* * *

  
_

When he arrived back in the office, he didn't even have the energy to kick something. His mood was so low, he actually found himself lying on the floor half way to his desk before he even recognized that he wasn't walking anymore. Something was so incredibly backwards about this whole situation, if he hadn't known better he might have suggested that Tsunade had planned for this long before she had resigned.

He was seriously beginning to understand that there was so much more to this than just a job, it was a life transplant. He had the sense to have assumed that he would have to be more careful with the taboos he flaunted, but after Tsunade's alcoholism he would never have thought anyone would object to his relationship lifestyle. How wrong he was…

He didn't even have the will to take the robes off as he lay there, but he was soon shocked into coherent thought as the light clip of sandals on the floor reached his ears. _She can't… no, she booked the day off. Wait, if it isn't her then… I should not be lying on the floor._

He grudgingly sat up to face her and watched her with a stunned expression as she sat down at her desk with a sigh and a glance that clearly asked 'I finally succeeded in driving you completely mad, didn't I?'

So many questions were spinning around his head about her presence there, or the bizarre way she was dressed, but none of them reached a full sentence or attached themselves to any noise as the war drums echoing from the council completely surrounded all conscious thought he felt capable of. More than anything, he actually felt relieved to see her there, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that she would be able to cope with this far better than he could.

"Sakura..."

She gave him a faint smile, still trying to gauge whether he was depressed or just being eccentric. "Yes Kaka-kun?"

"I am officially screwed." He sighed.

"Ok." She almost laughed, assuming that was just common knowledge.

His tone didn't alter, still stuck in an almost whisper. "Seriously."

"All right..." She poured him a glass of water from his desk before kneeling beside him as she prepared to talk him through whatever dilemma he had caused himself. "What is it now?"

Normally she would have expected some witty comment or defensive jibe, but she got neither, which struck her a little harder than she would admit. His serious tone made it obvious now why Kotetsu had gotten so worried that he had sent for her.

"The council has requested I get a girlfriend by Monday."

"And?" She frowned, "You are popular enough to get one aren't you?"

"Yes, but I... I don't do long term."

"Why not?"

He looked her straight in the eyes, pointing out what he thought was insultingly obvious. "I read Icha Icha Sakura."

"Right, of course." She restrained another laugh.

"I am so screwed." He groaned out, reverting back to his horizontal state.

"Apparently..." She smiled, satisfied that he wasn't going to try and kill himself or anything similarly daft, and stood up from the floor. "Well, good luck."

His eyes shot wide as he turned on his side to face her. "Where are you going?"

"Home, why, is there something you need?" She smirked.

"Huh? Why?"

Rolling her eyes, she leant against her desk in preparation for the usually drawn out nonsense before he'd finally allow her to leave. "Well, I kind of have to do whatever you ask so..."

He looked at the floor, deep in thought. "Why?"

"It's my duty. You need, I get. We've been over this before."

"And you would always do it, no matter what I asked?"

"Pretty much, that's the way it works."

"So if I asked you to blow-"

"No. I will only do it if it is vital to your job as hokage." She glared dubiously at the obvious cogs whirling in his head.

He nodded to himself. "Hmm..."

"What? You are planning something."

"You don't have a boyfriend, do you?"

She almost completely lost her balance in shock, staring at him like he had grown another head.

"Well…?" Kakashi prodded impatiently, having had enough embarrassment for one day.

"No, I don't." She told him hesitantly "I broke up with my last about... 6 months ago."

"Oh... if you don't mind me asking, why...?" He asked, hoping that it wouldn't be anything horribly revealing about her.

"He cheated on me."

"So..." He began to tap his fingers on the floor, refusing to meet her in the eye.

"If you think I don't know where you are going with this, you'll be sadly mistaken." She scowled at his blatant manipulation.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd figure it out so I wouldn't have to ask."

She sunk to the floor again, but kept close to her own desk. "Well that's romantic…"

"It's only in the eyes of the council, I mean, until I find another way out." He urged, "They have requested it so..."

"I can't say no. That's crafty... why though?"

He read her expression clearly, now finally looking at her again. "Why am I asking you?"

"Hai."

"You can defend yourself from jealous women and um... men. Also you... I mean you will do whatever it takes for duty, you can't break up with me, you already call me nicknames and uh... you are probably better at long term relationships then me." He spewed out, showing that he had actually put some thought into it, without explaining half of the deciding factors for him, not least the increasing amount he'd been finding his eyes stuck on certain areas of her body.

Trying not to focus on the personal details, Sakura had opted for a third person take on the whole matter. "Isn't it a bit odd dating an ex-student of yours?"

He laughed lightly under his breath. "Not at all; it's actually quite common with shinobi, with the team bonding thing. It's generally only frowned upon when the age difference is substantially larger."

"How substantially?" She asked purely out of interest.

"If Naruto were to date Jeraia..."

"I did not need that mental image..." She winced, "Eww."

"Well, you can't say no so... tomorrow once we finish here, I'll take you out somewhere, ok?"

"At least you can't be late..." She half-laughed as she fiddled with the edge of the shirt she was wearing.

"Why exactly are you dressed in a man's jounin shirt?" He wondered, following the action of her hands with his eyes.

"Oh, Kotetsu gave it to me. He was worried that my tank top was a little too revealing for you to cope with. I guess it's kind of a redundant issue."

"He took his shirt off for you?" He glanced curiously at her.

She smiled back at him, "No, he took Izumo's shirt off for me."

He smiled along. "Yeah that makes more sense."

"Well, I was actually having a day out with my friends that I should get back to." She stood up again to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sakura..." He called out softly.

Turning back to face him, he noticed that she was still smiling and that it seemed to be hopelessly contagious. "Hai?"

"Thank you. Just remember its part of your job, ok?"

"Well kami I wasn't taking it as an actual relationship. What kind of floozy do you think I am? Ok, stop gaping. Ja ne."

"Bye..." He sighed as she left him alone again, and sank further into the floor with the thoughts finally processing what exactly he had just done.

**AN: Ok, I have quite happily managed to get onto another easy little plot bunny to keep this one going for a while-ish. I will now attempt to focus on getting 'Average' on track.**

**There are a few little cult references in here that a limited number of people will get, such as one which is a saying that my Okaa-san uses to describe hangovers, and another which is a quote from 'Joan of Arcadia'. If you can guess the second one I will send cookies.**

**A little KotIzu slipped in there in memory of a cosplay past. :P **

**The Tenten section isn't really the way I usually like to write her, but I've found an endless trove of people who have written her very well as a slight pervert, so I thought I'd slip a bit of that in. There was an extra section after her scene between her and Sakura, but I stopped myself before I went completely insane on the grounds that I was almost considering another pairing in this thing (one which vows now to bring me horrific nightmares I may never recover from). For the sake of just one amusing one-liner, I decided it wasn't worth it.**

**Yeah, so far KakaSaku is the only pairing. I would stab myself in the lung before I let Shikamaru and Ino be together in this fanfiction. In fact, I may just make it a NejiShika just to spite you all… or a NejiShikaTen.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	7. Inevitable

**AN: Not fantastically polished, but my proof reader has better things to do so I'm going to get rid of this thing while I still can. This section has been floating about irritating me for weeks, so excuse the disjointed nature of it.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Seven: Inevitable**

After almost five hours worth of shopping she was beginning to see that if anything she was just going backwards. It may have been an entire lifetime since she'd met Shikamaru, but she honestly had no idea how to dress to impress him. Now the heal dragging from the other two kunoichi was wearing on her patience and she still hadn't spent her entire monthly mission pay.

Turning around at the small jewelry stall they were looking at, she watched as a figure sped towards their little group. Holding back her irritation at the inevitable interruption, she pointed it out to Sakura with a half-assed nod; just in time for him almost skid straight into them.

"Sakura!" He panted as he narrowly tried not to collide with the stall.

Sakura's eyes shot wide at the sight of him. "Izumo? What is it? For Kami's sake, breathe man."

Izumo nervously scratched at his chin as he tried to catch his breath. "I know you aren't supposed to and we said we'd cover for you and everything, but…"

Her heavy sigh told Ino a lot more in response than what she had said earlier, the firm planting of her hands on her hips a clear indicator of reluctance. "What has he done now?"

"Nothing that we know of… yet. Thing is, we don't know what the council said to him, but he's just acting very odd."

"Odd?" Ino interrupted with a laugh. _When was Hatake Kakashi ever _not_ odd?_

He ignored her and set his eyes as calmly as he could on Sakura's. "If you can keep him from going completely catatonic, I will personally give you anything you request."

"Anything?" Tenten smirked, nudging the pink haired girl in the stomach.

"You have to be kidding me." Sakura merely glared at him, her bizarrely professional attitude excluding all exterior disruptions.

"I wish I was Sakura-chan, I really do."

Then just like that, Sakura was off like a shot, Izumo attempting to keep up pace behind her, and her friends left abandoned. Ino couldn't help setting herself in a terrible mood, being left without a real explanation, standing alone in a market place (or as close to alone as she could get, seeing Tenten as practically invisible anyway).

_Typical…_ she ranted mentally, _even on her day off she does nothing but work. For once I'm the one with the severely important social problem and she just runs out the second the damned Hokage was mentioned. I swear she just goes from one obsession to the next; I could never be that fickle…_

_

* * *

  
_

No longer in the mood for shopping, it didn't take long before she found herself, genuinely alone, sat in a café as she waited for time to pass. It took at least an hour for Sakura to find her once again, and when she did, it was hard to tell just which one of them looked more miserable.

Watching as her friend silently slumped into the chair opposite her and let her head fall onto the table top, Ino decided to ignore the screaming fit she had planned for punishment. Clasping her hands thoughtfully, she smiled in the least threatening way she was capable of. "So, forehead, how are things?"

"What do you want?" Sakura grumbled, oblivious to the fact that she had been the one to sit down.

"Just checking to see if you're ok. You were gone for a while. Tenten's already left"

She grunted distrustfully. "I doubt that. 'Just checking' is like an alibi for you."

"Ok so I wanted to ask you something." Ino sighed in mock-defeat.

"What did you want? Make it fast, I have to work." She lied blatantly, making no move to lift her head.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"I am busy."

_Ha! Fat chance forehead… you can come up with a better excuse than that… _"Surely not too busy to go out with a group of us for drinks?"

"Yes. _Far_ too busy"

"Spoil sport. What are you doing that is so important?" She swore internally that if her best friend even muttered the word paperwork she'd need a hearing aid by the end of the week.

"Ino, what would you say if I told you I was dating an older man?"

Her eyes nearly popped right out of her skull, before she figured that Sakura was just trying to avoid the subject with some stupid, barely believable, excuse. She was obviously spending so much time in that office that the hokage was rubbing off on her. Ino simply decided to humor her and figure out some method to force her out of her apartment later.

"I'd say… 'ooh, go Saku', then start asking how much older."

Sakura still wasn't moving her head from the wooden surface, but at least now she was showing signs of movement, from the way her arms were twitching. "Um... 14 years older."

"Whoa... that's like... 33? Is he hot?" Once again the inner mechanics of her mind got confused with reality as she almost found herself believing the unenthusiastic ball of pink on the table in front of her. "Wait, It's not Izumo is it? You weren't sneaking off to…"

She shifted her head sideways to glare through her bangs. "Hell no Ino, I'm not insane, and I um… I don't really know if he's hot."

"How can you _not_ know?"

"Um... it's not his looks that attract me?"

Ino gave up trying to get her to sit up, and slipped her own head to table level to address her like a child. "Why is that a question?"

"I haven't really thought it through yet." She bit her lip nervously.

"And you are dating him?"

"Yes… maybe..." She paused to run her hand through her hair. The way she was tugging told Ino that this really was tearing her up inside. "Kind of... it's our first date tomorrow night."

"Ah... jitters." She giggled helplessly, always a sucker for gossip. "Don't go out with him if you don't feel comfortable Sakura."

"No, I will go out with him. There is no option there; I just don't really know how to handle it…"

Ino began to notice that they were getting weird stares, from other customers and from the irate waitress at the counter. Quickly, she sat herself back up and flicked Sakura on the head, causing the other girl to finally sit up, even if it was in pain rather than of her own volition.

"Well... here's a good start; don't do anything you'll regret. It is your first date like... ever, so don't rush into anything. Does he know you've never dated?"

Sakura cringed as she rubbed at the hairline where Ino had flicked her. "No, I told him I had a boyfriend a little while ago"

She deadpanned without even thinking about it, resisting the urge to flick her again. "That was stupid"

"I know but he's so... experienced." She whined "I couldn't let him think I was clueless."

"But you are clueless."

"Shut up pig."

* * *

The following day, Sakura had already begun to regret not taking Ino up on her offer of a night out. She really was trapped between two equally horrifying prospects; getting drunk with Ino on a Shikamaru rampage, and actually going out with her ex-sensei.

Inevitably she opted for the lesser of two evils, justifying it by the idea that with everyone going out with Ino (as would undoubtedly happen), none of her friends were likely to see her. At least that way she could postpone the torture she would receive from most of the rookies for a day or two.

Still, even with justification, she'd spent all day hoping and praying to every god she'd heard of, from endless numbers of religions that somehow a black hole would swallow the whole Hokage tower before anyone should know what she'd agreed to. Tragically though, things never went her way and so she found herself in a still very intact office almost an hour after they were supposed to be finished with work for the day.

In fact, they had actually finished their work earlier than usual, individually working out their nervousness through menial tasks. The extra few hours had been spent procrastinating in a desperate attempt to convince the other that they still had work to do.

Sat in their separate chairs, they soon began reading random scrolls to deny the fact that they should leave, until Kakashi finally let out a heavy sigh.

"You are done, aren't you?"

Sakura reluctantly lowered the paper in her hand to rest on the desk. "You too?"

"I think we are trying to delay the inevitable." He looked her in the eye, relieved that she had replied the same way he was thinking.

"I think you are right… for once." She was privately horrified with herself.

"I really don't want to do this" He groaned, practically throwing the mission scroll he was holding over the edge of his desk.

Annoyed, she went over to pick the offending article up from the floor. "The feeling is mutual."

"Thank you Sakura. I really mean it."

"We should go." She refused to meet him in the eye as she placed it back in its place in the filing system.

"Do you want to get changed or anything?"

Her head sank against the wall. "Why did you have to say that?"

"I told you I was taking you out. I don't believe for a second you didn't think about it." He told her with a smirk to his voice.

She turned around just as he took off his shirt and jacket to reveal his sleeveless black vest which was attached to the mask which was, in turn, always attached to his image.

Sakura's eyes drifted momentarily to his bare arms before realizing he was getting another shirt out from his desk. The pinstripe dark grey cotton shirt was a complete change from his usual, so it was made obvious that this was an effort to dress up as far as he was concerned. The fact that he left the shirt open furthered the effect.

She couldn't help but to smirk. "Actually, I didn't bring anything to change into. I am amused that you did though."

"Sakura..." He gave her a discrediting look.

"Fine, but I only brought it because I bought it for a date with Hiraku that never happened and I've been irritated since." She grumbled and wandered over to a small adjoining room where she had left her stuff. In actual fact, she had bought it for a date with _anybody_ that never happened, so it wasn't too much of a white lie to tell him this.

Locking the door behind her she changed quickly into the thigh length black dress and let her hair fall loose. The dress covered all of her from just above the knee to her shoulders, leaving only a glimpse of her upper torso from the v-neck and her lower arms.

She sighed as she re-entered the room, knowing how good she looked in the dress and regretful it should be wasted on work.

"What is that room anyway?" Kakashi asked as he looked in the mirror Tsunade had fixed onto the desk when she became hokage. He removed his hitai-ate and re-arranged his hair to a more attractive place, smoothing the most unruly areas into a fringe over his sharingan eye.

"It was Shizune's office." She told him, checking out the new image the hairstyle presented. _That suits him so much better..._

"Oh. So why don't you sit in there?"

"I need to keep an eye on you. It's a much better space for storage."

"You don't need to keep an eye on…" He froze as he looked up at her, wide eyed, and tried desperately to retain his composure. "Whoa... Hiraku is some lucky bastard. You look so… grownup."

"Shocker." She giggled lightly, rolling her eyes. "Just remember that I broke up with him, so... I guess... this outfit is for you..."

"I think I might be in trouble." He coughed and looked away.

She scowled skeptically, "What for?"

"I was worried about jealousy of you, but I guess I should worry for myself."

"Sure, hottest couple in Konoha, I can see Jeraia's nosebleeds now." She laughed sarcastically. "Don't bother trying to flatter me."

"Come on gorgeous." He lowered his voice to try and sound attractive as he reached for her arm.

She linked her arm in his, leaving only one thought in her head_. I must be completely mad or desperately lonely. Either way, this cannot end well... I can't let it._

_

* * *

  
_

"Where are we even going?" She pouted, after half an hour of walking around next to Kakashi with the Konoha breeze chilling her exposed flesh. At least when Ino made her wear tiny amounts of clothing, she took her to an over-heated people-packed bar, instead of waiting until she caught pneumonia.

"I haven't made my mind up yet. Where do you want to go?"

"You don't know?!" She snapped, stopping still in the middle of the street.

Kakashi was caught between wanting her to calm down and thankful for the attention she was attracting. "Well, it's not like I really thought it through."

"I can't believe you! Do you realize how cold I am right now? If you were going to just walk around in circles all night, you could have told me."

"Of course, I'm sorry Saku-chan." He slipped an arm around her in an attempt to keep her warm and hoped desperately that she wouldn't punch him through a wall for it. "Shall we go to a tea-shop to warm up?"

She got the hint and took a deep breath to still her temper before nodding her agreement. "Is there one nearby?"

"There's only really one that'd be open this late. It's not far but it's pricy…"

She looked him in the eye in a way that would seem infatuated to anyone looking, but was a clear threat to him. "You have the biggest salary in this village. If you even dare _think_ about skipping out on the bill…"

"With you Saku-chan?" he smiled widely. "I would never do such a thing."

"Then get me there before my insides need defrosting."

Not wanting to really find out what would happen if he denied her, he did exactly that and used a transportation jutsu to get them both right there. It was true that it would be the only place open this late, so predictably it was quite crowded.

"I didn't mean that…"

"It was self-preservation," he winked and led her over to a table.

It didn't pass her attention that there was even a queue of people waiting for somewhere to sit and yet he didn't even need to attract the attention of the serving staff. "Is this some kind of perk from being Hokage? Special table reservations wherever you want?"

He seemed more intrigued by the idea than he was with the notion of answering her question. "I wonder if I can get them…"

"I suggest very strongly that you start paying attention… Kaka-kun."

"Suggestion acknowledged. No, actually this has been a table of mine for years, and not by any personal request. This place is about five minutes walk from my old apartment, as I'm sure you'll remember from your Genin days, so I used to come here all of the time."

"_Old_ apartment? You moved?"

"Ah… yes," he scowled, realizing his mistake immediately.

"You moved and you didn't think I should be made aware of this fact? What if there was an emergency and I needed to contact you? Would you let half of Konoha burn just because you wouldn't tell me where you live? This better not be some way to stop me from coming to wake you up if you feel like staying in bed or I swear I'll…"

"Saku-chan…" Kakashi winced at the irate kunoichi's loudness.

"What?!"

"Let's not talk about business tonight, ok?"

Sakura glanced around the small café with a blush, suddenly realizing how she was acting, before sinking low in her seat. "Sorry Kaka-kun…"

"You are right though, I should have let you know that I was no longer at my apartment."

"I thought you liked that place."

"I did. It was convenient while I was going off on missions all of the time, but I couldn't really imagine living there now that I'm stuck on office duties."

"I suppose that make sense," Sakura nodded distractedly.

Before he could call her up on her attitude, a waitress approached with a pot and some cups, an annoyed expression on her face as she glanced at Sakura. "Here's your tea Hatake-sama."

"Thank you," he nodded. "Could you please make sure that we're left alone? I'll settle the tab later."

"Sure…" she smiled politely, but refused to remove her glare from Sakura as she disappeared across the café.

"She didn't even ask for your order…" Sakura frowned.

"I know she's a little rude Saku-chan, but she's just jealous. I always order the same thing, whether I have company or not, so it's not really surprising."

Light dawned on Sakura in a quite disheartening way as she processed this information and came out with a conclusion that she was prepared to hurt herself for not realizing before. Enough attention drawn her way, she settled for a harsh whisper as she brought the subject of her discomfort to Kakashi's attention.

"People think I'm just another one of your floozy one night stands, don't they?"

"There's a chance of that, yes."

Resisting the urge to slam her head into the table in front of her, she took a deep breath laughed it off. "Well my career's over, so what should I care if no one respects me…"

"There's more to you than your career Sakura."

"You dropped the nickname?" She pointed out, cautious in case he tried to make the conversation more adult again.

He sighed. "Well, I was being serious, and I don't feel like the chan suffix was doing me any good, so I think I'll just stop it."

"I don't want to be serious, ok?"

"Ok…" he nodded, not entirely sure whether she meant it or not.

"Not tonight anyway," she explained. "Tonight I feel I'm already doing something that could very well drive me completely insane if I acknowledge it as a decision made without the aid of alcohol, so I have absolute intention to have fun while I can."

"Have fun?"

"Yes, I want to laugh. It's been a while since I've done that without sarcasm."

"How long has it been exactly?"

"I can't remember." She lied, knowing that if he found out that she'd been laughing at his expense just two days ago he would probably find another way to make her miserable.

"Then I agree that you need to laugh. It's probably a good thing then that I could do with a laugh as well."

"Hey Kaka-kun…" she grinned.

Infected by that smile of her again, he returned the gesture. "Yes Sakura?"

"We agree on something."

"It was inevitable that it would happen eventually."

**AN: So yeah… I think that'll do for now. If there's a drastic tragedy let me know and I'll sort it out, but I think I'm going to move on now.**

**In honor of my other suffering fanfiction and popular requests against NejiShika, the second pairing has been decided as ShikaTen. It's not going to be straight forward romance though, rather a Shakespearian influenced element (If you know your literature references, think of the pairing as what Laertes is to Hamlet).**

**Two hours later and she learns how to spell the title without her dyslexia having a field day…**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	8. Mood

**AN: There's a reason for this I'm sure but I've forgotten what it is… Thank you for the desk.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter ****Eight****: Mood**

If it wasn't for the insanely cheap prices of drinks at the bar they were gathered in (which Shikamaru blamed entirely on Ino's ridiculously low cut blouse), almost everyone would have been asking for therapy by now. The self-designated host was in the midst of the biggest hissy fit she'd demonstrated since Sasuke's betrayal and in the process was managing to make everyone else's night a misery.

That wouldn't have been hard, if not for the general good mood of at least four of the guys in a huddle at the bar. It really had been years since the old friends had spent so much time together, without Naruto's constant whining about Sakura and his failure to be Hokage, or some horrible tragedy bringing them together. Thankfully the hyper ball of orange had now opted for denial and growing up as a way of coping with his sensei's promotion, so his company was a lot more fun to be around.

Really, it could have been the perfect evening if it wasn't for the fact that tonight was the night that Ino had come to a badly imagined conclusion that it was once again her duty to make a change in every one of her friend's lives. Not ordinarily a difficult thing to cope with, but when her victims have the nerve to not show up for her torture, 'helpful' Ino had a terribly hard to cope with habit of mutating into 'hell hath' Ino.

"I am going to kill that girl!" Ino yelled over the deafening thump of music, "Has anyone seen Sakura?!"

Kiba laughed obnoxiously from his nearby spot at the bar, "No, no one ever does. Were you seriously expecting her?"

"Have you checked the office?" Chouji suggested, struggling to hear even his own voice over the din.

"Of course I have, and her home, and the hospital! She's nowhere to be seen… I can't believe that she's so childish she's hiding from me!" She was seconds away from punching inanimate objects by now, much to the confusion of everyone present.

Sakura hadn't been the type to attend a mass gathering like this since she was a Genin, so why this one night was causing so much aggravation was as much a mystery as Shikamaru turning up.

"Did she actually say she was coming tonight?" Naruto checked, in case Ino had progressed to full blown hallucinations of Sakura's social life now.

"No, she gave some silly excuse about going on a date with an older man."

"Yeah, you're right, she must be hiding." Kiba chuckled as he downed another cup of Sake fast enough to make him cough out the last word.

"I mean come on…" Ino continued to rant, "14 years older… even I'm not bad enough to believe that _Sakura_ of all people would date someone _that_ old."

"Ha ha yeah, that'd be like her dating Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto shook off that uncomfortable image.

"So no one has any idea where she is?!" Ino yelled again, right beside Shikamaru's ear.

Desperate not to go completely deaf and not being in any way partial to the awful excuse for music the bar insisted on playing, Shikamaru slinked off out of the way towards a quieter corner of the room. He was actually glad of Sakura's offensive absence, as it provided his noisy teammate a distraction from drawing attention to the inappropriately short skirt she seemed to feel was entirely was his benefit.

He wasn't exactly immune to such enticements, as he was just as testosterone-fueled as any other male his age, but knowing who exactly that barely covered ass belonged to did nothing but make him want to throw up with discomfort. Fortunately for him, his well-known personality gave him the perfect excuse for shutting his eyes and wishing the world away. Of course, the sheer quantity of fortified spirits he had been consuming all night helped too.

Trapped in his half-drunken thoughts, he barely registered that when he leant himself against the cool wall of the quieter part of the bar, reveling in the feeling of condensation soaking into his shirt, there was someone else doing the exact same thing.

"Why do you put up with her?" She asked casually.

He turned his head sideways to notice the older jounin as she watched Ino carefully, almost as if she was expecting to make a run for it any second. It was understandable, if what Neji had said during their match earlier that day had been true; the broken-limbed Tenten would be a prime suspect for Ino to use as council now that Sakura had full-time commitments.

It took him a second to figure out what she'd said before he replied, "She's my teammate, and our families are kind of closely knit."

"So you are worried about upsetting her and taking everything else with it?" She turned to face him now, letting him notice just how tired she looked.

He laughed softly, "No, I just don't want my mum nagging me."

"Ok, so here's the deal, you don't like Ino, but you can't just tell her that." She started, obviously having thought this over far too much.

"Correct." He nodded slowly.

"And I am looking for just about _any_ way to get to Neji…"

His brain finally clocked on to the tone she was speaking in. "I see."

Her eyes sparkled inquisitively. "You see?"

"I think Ino is certainly stupid enough to fall for it. You don't think Neji will see through anything?"

Now it was her turn to laugh. "_Trust_ me, relationships are the worst blind spot in his vision he has."

"What exactly did he do?" he wondered, assuming that she wasn't the type of Kunoichi to torture someone just for kicks.

"Nothing."

"Ah…" _so it was just silly girl troubles after all._

"You get me?" She seemed genuinely shocked, as though she'd never had someone understand what she was talking about before.

He glared at her sideways. "Please do give me some credit for my intelligence."

"Fine." She looked back over to the crowd around Ino and her eyes immediately shot wide. "Oh Kami, he's coming over again."

Thinking on his feet, Shikamaru lifted his body from the cool wall and walked over to face Tenten directly. Hearing Neji's footsteps near them, he looped a hand behind Tenten's neck to bring her mouth to his in a close kiss.

"Tenten?!" Neji almost squeaked, reminding Shikamaru briefly of his surroundings just enough to sense Tenten's now increased uneasiness.

Common sense kicking in just enough to overrule his addled brain, he grabbed her by her hand and pulled her out of the nearest exit, shortly before her patience blew.

"What the hell?!" She protested, yanking her hand out of his grip.

He shrugged, attempting to think through the situation. "I thought we agreed."

She began walking herself into a frustrated circle. "On a stupid plan like that? Please do give me some credit for my intelligence."

"What did you mean then?" He withdrew a cigarette and his lighter from his pocket, preparing for a long and overly righteous lecture on the rights and wrongs of his actions, his complete social ineptitude and on proper manners.

What he wasn't expecting was for her to take a calm breath and simply explain herself to him. "I was just suggesting that we should team up to help each other with our _issues_. I had no full mission plan coordinated"

"So my 'stupid plan' isn't nearly as stupid as you thought, by the time you consider that it's a decision made that we won't have to sort out later." He flicked his lit cigarette at her pointedly.

"Won't have to sort out later?!" she snapped exasperatedly, "Just because I want to get back at Neji doesn't mean I don't like him. How am I supposed to explain-?"

"Wait, is that…?" he nodded over her shoulder as he noticed two figures approaching them down the alley outside the bar.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she opted to glare at him. "Don't try to distract me."

"No really…" He nodded again, this time with impossibly wide eyes as he recognized them.

Slowly, she turned and almost fell back into him. He grabbed her hand to pull her behind the corner of the wall to watch as the couple they had spotted strolled closer.

"Whoa, Sakura looks nice in that dress." He whispered.

She lightly punched him in the side and quickly yanked the burning ash factory out of his mouth before it burned a hole in her shoulder. "She's with the Rokudaime… are they…?"

"It certainly seems that way." He commented half heartedly as he kept an eye on his cigarette.

As they drew up to the street they were in, Tenten stepped out, bringing Shikamaru with her as she challenged them. "Sakura, what are you doing here?"

Sakura went bright red in embarrassment. "I uh…"

"We are on a date." Kakashi finished for her, obviously not caring to make use of any kind of tact.

"No way…"

Sakura stopped scowling at her date for a second as she looked back to the others. "What about you? Why are you holding hands with Shikamaru?"

Tenten let go and side stepped, not having realized that he had not let go. "It's not what you think…"

"Hmm…" Sakura didn't argue, really wanting to leave as soon as possible. "Anyway…"

After a short pause, the two girls spurted out the first thing that came into their minds, "Please don't tell anyone!"

Then the guys replied in unison. "Surely that defeats the object."

Sakura turned to glare at Kakashi as Tenten did the same. "You said it was just for the…"

"How else are they going to find out?" Kakashi deadpanned.

"I hate you…" She sulked.

Shikamaru, predicting a similar scolding from Tenten, spoke before she could even open her mouth. "It's too late now. What else are you going to do?"

Once again, the kunoichi turned to face each other and spoke at the same time. "We should get going."

Both couples went off in their opposite directions.

Tenten handed Shikamaru back his cigarette as they walked in silence back towards the bar, individually thinking over what they had just witnessed. That alone stunned him a little; no one had ever given one back after they'd taken one before, and especially not a female.

The general consensus between them on what had just happened was that on the whole, the prospective relationship was probably better for Sakura's self esteem then it was utterly bizarre. There was just one thought that sprang up to trouble Tenten:

"Oh dear Kami…"

Shikamaru was snapped out of absent-mindedness by the panic in her voice. "What?"

"How are we gonna tell Ino she was wrong?"

"You do it." He immediately directed, not really wanting to say another word to Ino, and certainly not about this.

"Why?" Tenten scowled. "She's your teammate. I thought you wanted her to hate you anyway"

"I do, but I'd like to be relatively bruise-free tomorrow."

As the night went on, it became harder and harder for this to become a reality, but it was nothing to do with the fury of Yamanaka Ino, and more to do with his horrendous miscalculation of how much alcohol it would take to cope with said person. In fact, quite ironically, Ino had done almost nothing but sputter and laugh since the revelation was made that her best friend had in fact been completely truthful.

Understandably, Naruto had taken it a little less well at first and had immediately disappeared from the crowd, only to return half an hour later, sick to death of listening to Sai talk about 'needs'. Blondes aside though, the subject was one of much hilarity and mocking, mostly for the absent pink girl's desperation. There was no doubt that by morning, the whole of Konoha would be buzzing, and none of Sakura's fussing and scolding would stop that rumor in its tracks.

So that was how Shikamaru came to be in a heap in a sheltered booth on the opposite side of the room to 'the noisy ones', watching silently in the hope that soon he would stop feeling so dizzy and just pass out. That way was usually the quickest way to find himself waking up when the sun was out again and forgetting the whole night had happened.

He'd done well so far in hiding from Ino, but unfortunately his luck only stretched so far and he managed to catch the eye of someone else from that side of the room. She had previously found herself chatting over the perplexities of Sakura's new love interest with Ino, but now the younger girl had reached the 'dancing' stage of inebriation, she had begun to find her company much less interesting.

"I could kill you, you know?" Tenten remarked as she slid into the booth seat beside him.

He murmured his response, barely loud enough to carry over the music, "Yeah, I know."

"I don't even know what's stopping me."

"Neji." He pointed out tactlessly.

"Huh, what's Neji got to do with it?" She frowned, "He's probably never going to speak to me again now."

"He's stupid then."

Carefully glancing over him, she looked as if she was trying to decipher whether he meant to say something else. "What do you mean?"

He sighed heavily and moved to sit sideways to face her better. "If it matters that much to you, just tell him we were drunk."

"Tell him _you_ were drunk more like. I was hardly responsive."

"Maybe not…"

She cut him off as she looked off behind him. "Ino's coming over… I think she's gone passed dancing. She looks hammered."

With an annoyed glare back at the blond girl, Shikamaru reached out for Tenten's hand and pleaded, "Please Tenten."

Reluctantly, Tenten grumbled out, "The damage is done now…"

Taking that as enough permission, with the irritating kunoichi sauntering over too close to them for comfort, Shikamaru pulled Tenten into another kiss, this time more fiery than the last. With the way that he had her pinned against the back of the booth, she knew there was no way she could make herself comfortable or believable without kissing him back, however reluctantly, though she soon began to wonder if she was just encouraging him too far. His mental state blocking out all but the stimulation it was desperate for, he didn't pull away until long after the sobs had broken out from behind him and Ino's footsteps were heard.

When he finally did let go, he lost complete control of his tongue. "That was receptive."

Tenten immediately punched him in the face, though not with her full power. "I did _not_ give you permission for that! You said Ino was simple, she would have gotten the message!"

A little dizzy from her punch, Shikamaru cradled his bruising face as he lay down across the bench. "I'm drunk… my hormones are crazy…and you are a surprisingly good kisser…"

Stuck for words, Tenten leant over him, quite ready to hit him again, but stopped as she realized that he was almost falling asleep. "But I'm not drunk."

Close to passing out, he only just managed to sigh out, "Maybe you should be."

"Great." She said to herself once his arm had fallen limp over his face. "Now what am I supposed to do…?"

**AN: Next chapter I promise will be much longer, and will have some pretty big KakaSaku stuff unless the hangover goes better than I expect it to. I felt like I needed to write this so I did, but it doesn't mean that I'm off Hiatus. I have a very important exam coming up and my trips to the hospital still have me on some pretty weird medication. If anything comes flying it won't be coherent.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	9. Decide later

**AN: Warning, I've done a little time mix here…so you'll have to use brain power to figure out what happens when. As promised, much longer chapter, and though it wasn't what I expected to structure the chapter as, I think it was about time I got going on the Kaka-Saku front.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter ****Nine****: Untitled**

The next afternoon started with an argument. It wasn't so much that any two persons saw fit to get angry or quarrelsome towards each other, and it wasn't even really something that needed to be argued about, but that's what happened.

Kakashi was still recovering from the scull bashing he'd received from his 'eternal rival' that morning, which on top of his barely concealed hangover was beginning to wear on him in the form of a very bad temper. It was only really at the end of the night, after Sakura had left, that it had occurred to him what had happened; the only cure for which was a lot of alcohol, seen as there was no one he could talk to.

As much as he tried to convince himself that she was a grown woman (quite obviously) and was no longer a little helpless girl in his care, the paranoia in him wondered exactly how close a comparison she kept with his 'teacher' persona. Running into her old academy peers didn't exactly help matters, jolting his memories from training alongside a few of these kid's parents.

He glared impatiently at the young man standing so intimidating upright in the centre of his office, waiting for him to get around to whatever incredibly important demands that would need seeing to. _I have enough pointless work to do, I don't need any more of my time wasting on idle thoughts while some half-cocked jounin decides what to do with his moment._

"Shikamaru… Why are you in my office?"

"I'm requesting a mission reprieve." He replied, straightforward and truthfully.

Kakashi scowled. "On what grounds?"

"I am needed here in the village, and have some issues with my teammates."

"I can always assign you to an alternate team." He offered, trying not to wish Sakura could handle it.

"I would rather take some time off."

"How much time?"

"Until Tenten-san has recovered from her injuries."

"You want time off to be alone with Tenten?" Sakura interrupted, snapping out of her previous daze, "That's so sweet."

"Not all of us can work with our partners."

"I'm sorry," Kakashi continued, "but we have too many ninjas out on medical leave as it is. I need you out there. There is no serious reason why you should need to be with her."

Shikamaru's expression hardened, focusing a stern glare on the Rokudaime. "I am sure you are aware that my family specializes in medical remedies Hokage-sama; a specialty that keeps them in a high standing amongst the council of elders."

"Your point is?"

"I am not dim. I can see through your complete lack of intimacy with Sakura-chan. Let me take time off to provide Tenten medical assistance, or you will find the council pointed towards this fact as well."

The younger shinobi had not moved an inch but he had managed to make his superior feel oddly trapped in his own seat. This was an uncharacteristically bold move.

"You are blackmailing me?"

"Your choice Kakashi; Take it or leave it."

He didn't even mull it over; His bad mood didn't give him time for it as he snapped, speaking through gritted teeth. "Fine… please leave my office."

"Shikamaru…" Sakura called nervously before her ex-classmate could do as he was instructed, oblivious to Kakashi's anger.

"Yes Sakura-chan?" He replied, as though the previous conversation had never even taken place.

"Is it really that obvious…? I mean, about Kaka-kun and me?"

"Trying to hide a blatant crush on someone you are already dating just doesn't make any sense." He sighed, looking over to Kakashi pointedly, before turning back to face Sakura. "You two barely hold hands in public, and seem to spend half your time avoiding each other. I'm just very observant, but it won't be long before others start to figure it out."

"It's really nice that you are doing this for Tenten." She smiled, mostly ignoring what he'd just said. "She's having a pretty hard time dealing with being stuck in Konoha."

He just nodded to her and left them alone.

Sakura sat thinking to herself for a minute, before turning to face Kakashi. "What did he mean by 'blatant crush'…?"

"Nothing Sakura, he's just trying to get to us." he mumbled in response.

"It's not the end of the world, right? I mean we gave it a try."

Stunned by how quickly she would just dismiss this out of hand, after already sacrificing herself in front of her friends, he began to wonder if she'd completely lost her competitive streak. "Sakura, I can't end this. We'll just have to do what he says and try to be more intimate."

"Intimate?" she gulped.

"I'm not saying you've got to go passed any boundaries Sakura, but surely I'm not so repulsive to you that you can't hold my hand occasionally?" Honestly, he feared the answer.

"Not in here though? Just when we are out?"

"Of course. In here we can pass it off as professional compartmentalization."

She seemed to have accepted the matter for what it was, busying herself once again with the endless stream of chores she seemed to find for herself. He watched her every movement carefully as she slipped around the room, looking for any sign that what went on last night was upsetting her or even affecting her in any way. It was even beginning to annoy him that she was utterly unflustered, after the turmoil he'd put himself through mentally on her account.

_Obviously she's more of an adult about this than I am…_ he pondered, _unless of course she actually liked going out with me… no, it had to be the first._ He was only pulled out of his quandary by a sharp curse from her direction, alerting him not only to the fact that he'd once again stopped watching her face in favor of other parts of her, but also to her newfound irritation.

"If I wasn't so impressed by his chivalry, I'd hate him." She seethed.

He smirked, finally finding the humor in the situation, "Sorry, I'm not that romantic."

"I wasn't expecting _you_ to be."

"That was backhanded."

A delightful laugh burbled out from under her breath as she glanced at him. "It wasn't meant to be. It was meant to be directly insulting. I wouldn't want you getting away with yourself."

"Well I guess I'll have to prove you wrong then."

"Please don't tell me you are going to try? We both know that the pace doesn't suit you."

He couldn't resist. "Just because I usually build things up to a climax, or a few, in one night, doesn't mean I'm not capable of slowing things down."

"Believe me, that's not what I meant." She screwed up her face at his lewdness.

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Well it's not always exactly a case of slowing down." She blushed lightly as she quoted Ino, "You've just got to keep it hot for longer."

He almost choked on his own breath, never having expected those words to come out of her mouth. "Saku-chan, are you trying to turn me on?"

Dismay shone in her eyes as she snapped her glare back to him. "Why would I?"

"Nevermind."

* * *

It was a bad morning.

Shikamaru decided this very quickly, and it wasn't all to do with the headache waiting for him the second his retinas met sunlight. This headache was not just alcohol. Hangovers were fairly recognizable for him by this point, and with no marked increase in other symptoms, the only reasonable explanation was that something else was causing the pain to amplify.

In his groggy state it didn't even occur to him that his could easily have come to this conclusion merely by the location of the pain; this of course he demonstrated as he turned over in an attempt to ignore the beckoning morning, or afternoon. The shot of pain running down the left side of his face forced him to drag his reluctant limbs over to the bathroom in a vain hope of preventative medicine.

The reflection that greeted him was one of foreboding and proof that he was really destined for a terrible day. He cautiously ran a finger down the side of his jaw, wincing as he outlined the purple-green swell contrasting so sickeningly against his pale, clammy skin.

"Kuso… what did I do last night?"

Satisfied that who or what had inflicted the injury had not done any lasting damage, other than perhaps his pride, he promptly threw back some painkillers and set about finding some clean clothes. Aware that he had no hangover food left and that if his mother caught him in his current state he'd soon be having a bad week, not just a morning; he really had no choice but to venture into the daylight in search of Chouji.

In the five minutes it had taken to get to the end of the street, he was already half beginning to wish he'd dealt with the screaming. Firstly, there was not a cloud in the sky willing to obscure the fiery ball of torture trying to burn his eye sockets out. Secondly, he lived on a very busy street and was unfortunately prone to walking into people who knew who he was.

This wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but this morning a pair of pale eyes that would ordinarily just glide passed impassively had decided to land directly on him, and Shikamaru was introduced to an entirely new meaning to being glared at. Suddenly fearing for his own life he found himself stepping backwards away from the furious Hyuuga, until help came from nowhere.

"Shikamaru!" the flash of red called out, standing between himself and Neji.

"Chouji?" Shikamaru blinked, trying to make sense of a situation he wasn't entirely sure he'd started.

"Come on Neji-san, we're all adults here," Chouji smiled politely, trying to calm him down, "I'm sure you have better things to do than kill him, right? Maybe a few days breathing space may do everyone some good."

"Hn." Neji breathed reluctantly and strode away, not removing his glare for a second.

"What are you doing out here…?" Shikamaru asked once Neji was safely out of sight. "I was just going to see you."

He sighed in relief as they began a slow walk towards Chouji's place. "I was checking whether Ino remembered last night. She doesn't, so you are safe for now, but she'll only hear soon from someone else."

"Hear what?"

"You don't remember either? You didn't get a jogged memory from that bruise of yours?"

Shikamaru scratched at the back of his head. "Um… no. Mind telling me why everyone hates me?"

"Well, I can't say I know the full story, but I was told last night you managed to kiss Tenten, quite a bit, in front of Neji and in front of Ino. So, Ino's gonna hate you as soon as she hears cos she's decided she loves you again, Neji is gonna hate you cos you kissed his girl (not that he'd ever admit it). Sakura also probably hates you cos you let slip about her and the Hokage dating. Other than that… no one really knows how you got that bruise, but Tenten's not really left her apartment. Lee went around earlier, but came back crying so it's safe to assume she's in a bad mood."

He had to admit, of all the possible situations he could have thought up, the truth was probably the furthest away from sense. "Oh… Tenten? Really? I don't think I ever really spoke to her."

"Neither did anyone else." Chouji chuckled, "You honestly don't remember anything? I thought you had that tea for that."

"I left it at yours, because I told you after the last time that I never wanted to remember my drunken antics."

"I think maybe it might be a good idea this time."

"Yeah… I gotta know whether it's safe to speak to certain people again."

* * *

"I spoke to Tenten earlier." He told her casually, in a tactful attempt to avoid work. It had been a few days since their date and things were sinking into their usual boring rhythm again.

Sakura didn't even bother to look up, not really finding much relevance in this for her. "Ok."

"I was just clearing up Shikamaru's excuse. It wouldn't be the first time he has taken time off just to lie in bed and be rid of Ino."

"Why are you telling me this?" She sighed.

He nervously sauntered his way over to her desk. "She mentioned something… about Sasuke."

Sakura froze, pen stuck in place inches above the paper she was about to sign (with Kakashi's signature of course). "She wouldn't just mention him. You were asking questions about me?"

"That's not the point. He made a move on you?"

She let the pen fall to the desk, her fingers tensing up on their own accord. "That's absolutely none of your business."

"I'm Hokage, and your partner, so everything is my business." He began sharply, but soon decided against it, and leant beside her. "You've wanted that for as long as I've known you. Why did you reject him?"

She let out another heavy sigh and tried to word an explanation as best as she could. "Sometimes, even a fairytale ending doesn't leave you where you wanted to be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't love him. You were right all along, it was a childish crush, and now I feel nothing. It just took me a while to realize it. Are you happy now?"

His eye widened sharply at her bitter tone, and he knew right away that there was more to it. "So you've moved on?"

"I've grown up." She corrected him, turning to look him in the eye. "He's nothing but a criminal to me."

"Good, that's… healthy." He muttered, carefully avoiding her gaze.

"Why, what did Tenten say?"

"She said…" he took a deep breath and retreated back to his own desk, looking out of the window. "She told me not to take advantage of a rebound that's built up from childhood."

"That's ridiculous." Sakura almost laughed.

"That's what I told her."

"As if I'd have a rebound from something that never happened..."

"Oh, I meant me taking advantage."

She frowned, trying to figure out exactly what was going on inside of his head. "Isn't that exactly what you are doing?"

"Huh?" He spun to face her, confusion crossing his features deeply.

"You are taking advantage of my position as your assistant."

_Is that really what opinion she has of me? _He frowned to himself. "I don't mean to."

"So where's your logic? Why on Earth do you even care what went on with Sasuke?" She lashed out at him, her patience down to its last fiber with him after days of his ambiguous messages.

"He upset you."

"Of course he did!" She stood up and began to walk up to him, causing him to shrink back. "How would you feel if someone you have always respected leant up to you like this…?"

She leant on the edge of his desk in much the same way as Sasuke had to her against the bars of his cell, leaning into him so that he could feel her breath on his neck as she mimicked the husky tone of his voice, "Then said to you, 'I want to fuck you' in no uncertain terms," she leaned back, leaving him breathless as he tried to figure out where his legs had gone to before she returned to normal, "having no intentions other than desperation and self-preservation."

"Sakura, I…"

A tear ran down her face of its own will. "It's just humiliating… even if no one saw."

He instinctively reached up to wipe the tear away, before pulling her into a hug that surprised them both. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset."

* * *

Stunned, she couldn't say anything, as he held her earnestly. They stayed there for some time, silently as the last few minutes of their work day passed un-noticed. It had been too long, she decided, since someone had last cared about her feelings. The thought barely even crossed her mind that it was a very peculiar moment as she held on to his warmth, running on instinct as she finally figured out just how distressed she was.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Kakashi pulled back, suddenly very conscious of their position against each other, and how inappropriate it was.

"I still have things to finish." She muttered, glancing back at the pile of paper on her desk.

"Finish them later, or tomorrow, when you can focus."

"I can't…"

Apparently noting that she'd started speaking weakly, Kakashi turned back to his usual tone, hoping she'd soon return to being her usual vivacious self. "I'm in charge, remember?"

"Ok then…" She forced a smile. "Fresh air does sound sensible."

He led her out of the building and through the streets right away, not even bothering to remove his hokage jacket, which Sakura had taken to forcing him into wearing. They kept up a slow stroll beside each other as they watched the light change with the gradually setting sun.

What started off as a relaxing walk to calm their nerves quickly became awkward though as the silence between them enabled the gossipers along the streets to seem so much louder. One group, were not even bothering to hide their blatant glares and comments amongst the small market place they were stood beside.

"Are you sure they are courting?" One old woman asked another.

"I know what you mean." The other replied, her raspy voice distinctive to the ears. "They could so easily just be good friends."

"Perhaps it was one of those silly rumors those young ones make up all the time when they've drunk too much."

A nearby stall holder piped up to join in. "Well, it's either that or they're having a domestic. Just look at them, they barely look at each other."

The second woman laughed along. "I wouldn't imagine anyone would be surprised. I heard he's some kind of playboy. A plain girl like that can't possibly hold his attention, no matter what stupid color she dies her hair."

Sakura sank her head into her chest, hoping she could just disappear. Honestly, she had thought the same things for a while now, and hearing them said by others just made them all the more real. She was so caught up in her own worries that it took her a few seconds to notice that Kakashi had stopped walking.

Looking around, she found dozens of eyes focused on the two of them, and turned to confront him. The first thing she saw was his own anger, radiating off him in waves. She could only think that the comments had bruised his own ego, by proving that his plan was not working the way that he had hoped, and that Shikamaru had been right.

He was glaring sideways at the floor as though he would be quite happy to watch it smashed to pieces, before he finally looked up to see Sakura's concerned expression. He immediately softened, and beckoned her closer to hold his hand.

She tentatively did as he asked, gazing curiously at him. "What is it Kaka-kun?"

He sighed and tucked a loose bang behind her ear, admiring the way the orange light of the sunset bounced off it, in the most unashamed way he could.

"I don't tell you enough Saku-chan, how beautiful you are to me." He told her softly, "I hope you realize that you mean more to me than any other woman I know."

She understood that he was putting on an act, but still had no idea how to react, or where he was going.

"That's really sweet of you." She smiled in a way that would seem realistic to anyone around, but would ask the silent question.

"I really mean it…" He apologized with his eyes, before pulling her close, and looping his spare hand to bring her by the neck up towards him.

Inside she was panicking, physically and psychologically, as she figured out what he was doing; her stomach tying itself in knots as she waited for the inevitable disappointment. _What if he knows from this that Hiroki was a lie?_ She thought to herself, and quickly made the decision to hide her nerves the best she could.

She plastered on a sweet smile as she moved her loose arm up to rest on his shoulder, leaning further into his chest ready for the contact. She didn't have long to wait, as his lips brushed carefully over hers, letting her feel the shape of his face beneath the thin fabric filter.

Something in her had expected it to be clumsy, or at least uncomfortable with the invasion, but was pleasantly shocked at the relaxing feel of his warm breath against her mouth.

He too, was stunned by just how easy it was to be kissing her, without any awkwardness at all. He kept waiting for her to pull back disapprovingly, but she didn't seem as though she intended to do this at all.

It was although both of them were too awed to really comprehend what was going on, but they were in no way frozen in position the way they had been during recent times. It fit, like a puzzle that may not be finished yet, but was definitely emerging into a picture that made sense.

Eventually they pulled apart, though kept themselves hand in hand as they began to stroll off again on auto-pilot, both with a slight smile that failed to be kept hidden from prying eyes.

Minutes later, as they found themselves back in their office in the tower, a mechanism clicked into place somewhere in Sakura's mind. This promptly dragged her kicking and screaming, back into reality. _I just kissed Kakashi-sensei! Or rather, he kissed me… and it wasn't that bad… I think._

Despite this realization, everything somehow returned straight back to normal, and they both went back to only speaking to each other about work. It took until the next morning for either one of them to acknowledge what had happened.

**AN: Hope that wasn't too much of a tease. Originally there was ShikaTen all the way through this chapter, but the call for KakaSaku was overwhelming. I hope the next chapter won't be long, seen as I've already written most of it and as usual I have all the dialogue mapped out. All I need now is just to write the description.**

**The first part of this chapter leads onto the start of the next, if that makes any sense.**

**Let me know if there's anything you feel the story needs next, just to keep momentum going.**

**Same rules apply.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	10. Again

**AN: Still a little time-skippish. I apologize in advance.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter ****Ten****: Again**

Honestly, the tea didn't help a hell of a lot. About all he managed to figure out was that Tenten had not been exactly a willing accessory to the previous night's events, and that it was actually courtesy of her that the left side of his face was making its way through the colors of the rainbow.

Nevertheless, he had a significant apology to make, and so had no real choice but to risk further injury or mutilation. One quick, and rather temperamental, trip to the Hokage tower had told him everything he needed to know, so it was a matter of minutes rather than hours before he found himself waiting at the door to her apartment.

A number of thoughts circled around his head as he stood patiently waiting for an answer that seemed to take forever. He was beginning to wonder if she was purposefully not answering the door because she knew it was him and didn't want to speak to him. That would be incredibly childish and very remiss of her skills by not at least attempting to mask her chakra from inside.

The most logical alternative was that she was busy; a dangerous thought in itself by the time he had factored in the only thing he knew for a fact that she did to distract herself. Images of her finally answering the door with blades adorning both hands like a tragic circus act sent a shiver down to the base of his spine, but he chalked it up to the fact that he was still slightly hung-over and hadn't yet managed to eat anything.

"How did you know where I live?" She asked as she opened the door, while she pulled what looked like a Hyuuga yukata over herself.

He shrugged, stunned by her sudden appearance. "I have my ways. Is this a bad time?"

"Every time is a bad time." She smiled absently, bizarrely devoid of any anger as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. "Actually… I think I remember Neji saying your family is medical, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" he glanced at her curiously as she motioned for him to step inside, shutting the door behind him.

"I took my bandages off so I could shower before I really thought about it. I'm scared of doing it myself in case I break something." She asked with her shining almond eyes, "I don't have the patience. I don't suppose you'd…"

It was almost impossible to hide his shock. "You want me to help you?"

"You've got to be able to do a better job than I can."

"But I thought you'd broken a rib as well as you're arm…"

"Yeah, and?" she thought for a second before catching up, "Oh, you think I'd be shy about letting you near my stomach?"

"You're not?"

"I think any dignity I did have was gone last night." She sighed and disappeared into another room, returning a few minutes later dressed in a simple off-white t-shirt and loose trousers, with only a minimal amount of swearing escaping while she did it.

Tossing the rolled bandages she was carrying to Shikamaru, which he caught only by reflex, Tenten began to tie up the bottom of her shirt for better access to the rib, only to find that this was an impractical feat with only one hand.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled in response to her last comment, and resigned to his new job, walked over to help her with the shirt. Trying hard to focus while his hand kept brushing against her exposed skin, he barely heard her question.

"So you do remember?"

"I didn't, but I do now, vaguely… enough to know that I was out of order." He stumbled, never being particularly good at apologies.

"So, where did you get that bruise on your shin?" She pointed as she sat down on the apartment's small sofa, being careful not to bring up the other one.

He looked down awkwardly to the spot just below the hem of his shortened cargo pants. "Huh? I didn't even notice that one… must have been while I was asleep."

"Did you get home ok?" She worried, signaling for him to sit beside her so that he could start working on her injuries. "I didn't really know what to do once you passed out, so I just told Chouji where you were."

"I guess so. Um… thanks for not just leaving me there."

"I'm not that heartless."

He shrugged, not really taking any notice of the aggravation in her voice, "It's what the others usually do."

"You get drunk like that often?"

"Not really"

"So why did you last night?"

It was odd that she was asking so many questions. His team mates mostly left him alone, and no one ever took enough notice to actually want to know more about him; even Ino would usually tell before she asked.

"Ino was really getting on my nerves." He replied shortly, hoping that she wouldn't ask any more questions.

"'guess you solved that problem."

"You'd think so, but apparently she can't remember… typical."

She sighed heavily, causing him to flinch as her ribs moved beneath his hand. "That serves you right for serving revenge inebriated."

"So um… I heard you were really angry… I mean other than the face bashing."

He watched as she peered at his bruised face over her shoulder and let a smile escape. "I was, but then I thought things through, and I've given up."

"Given up?"

"Given up moping about Neji. He was never going to be with me anyway… clan pressures and all of that… I just told myself, if I'm going to be the best kunoichi in history, I can't let that stuff get a hold of me."

"And yet you still put Lee in tears?"

"I guess you could say he's the Ino in our team."

"That makes sense."

"Ow"

"sorry…

"It's fine."

"No, sorry… I was a jerk last night. You must not have a very good lasting impression of me."

"Is that why you're here? Sucking up to salvage your reputation?"

"What, as a lazy woman hater? You have no idea how heartbroken I would be to lose that?"

"So, you're not?"

"Heartbroken?"

"No, a lazy woman hater."

"I prefer the term 'laid back but with incredibly bad experience finding tolerable women'."

"So, do I get the joy of being 'tolerable' in your book?" She turned to let him sort out her arm.

Eye contact was hard to cope with when trying to answer a question like that, so he forced his gaze onto his work. "I guess I haven't really thought about it. You really did do me a huge favor though so I owe you one… or more than one. If that takes the form of pretending that I like you, then fine."

"So you don't like me?"

"I'll repeat myself, I haven't really thought about it. I don't think I hate you though, if that's any compensation."

"Fantastic…" she replied, but the way her eyes shifted down told him that she was secretly hurt.

_She must get ignored a lot…_ he thought to himself with a guilty sigh. "I suppose I'll just have to get to know you better."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you were bound to find out soon enough. Almost as soon as I remembered what happened last night, I went to see the Hokage. I requested mission leave until you recover from your injuries."

"Why?"

"When I heard that you were upset, I didn't really know how upset and it made me feel guilty. I just figured that I should make things up to you."

This finally registered a second later and her eyes shot wide. "So… you really took time off, for me?"

"Yeah… It's not a big deal, but if you like, I can spend time with you. Sakura mentioned that you were getting a little stir-crazy, and it might be a good idea to get to know you better."

"Get to know me better?" She laughed, but then flinched as the movement stretched the stitches in her side. "I'm not sure there _is_ much of me to get to know, especially when I can't hold a kunai."

"Tenten, can you not tell how embarrassing this is for me, trying to apologize and pay damages the best way I can? I'm not a social person. If you really don't want me near you, just say and I'll leave."

"I don't need to be talked down to as if I'm a victim. I've already told you I don't care about last night."

"Fine then, I'll leave."

"No…" she cringed, looking down to her arm. "I need your help. I really hate hospitals and… you need my help too."

"What?"

"You think people are just going to leave it alone after what happened last night? You still need to convince Ino…"

"I thought you hated the idea."

"I did, but as I said… I'm done moping about him."

He carefully glanced over her posture, expression and movements, weighing up his options. She was lying, this much was obvious, but the question worth asking was whether she would go back on an agreement once it was made.

Either way, he did feel sorry for her (puzzling enough considering his usual objection to that attitude towards women) and he knew from body language alone that she needed him to support her. It seemed to him that unlike most girls he had close contact with, she wasn't pretending to need other people's acceptance for emotional strength… she actually did need it.

_It must have been impossible with her team to ever feel appreciated… no wonder she always seemed so weak. I have to make her believe I trust her, just until I can test out her resolve. _

"Ok, so here's the deal: you need to stop saying that you are over Neji, because both of us know better. If you still want to _try_ to get over him by denying then fine, but don't expect me to believe you."

She glanced up cautiously, having convinced herself that he would say no. "So, you'll help me, with medical things? In return I'll still pretend we're dating."

"Sounds ok to me, if you're sure?"

"I'm sure. It's not like I have anything better to do.

* * *

She had to admit that it had been driving her mad, increasingly throughout the day, so when she caught him landing a lingering gaze on her as she was putting away files (not the first time she had caught him at it, but she never saw the point in bringing it up), she saw the perfect opportunity to ask him what had been intriguing her.

"Um… do you always kiss with your mask on?"

"I was wondering how long that would take you." He sighed with relief as he found her eyes again.

"I don't, I mean… I don't want to be intrusive or anything, I just…" She noted how he seemed to be more amused than frustrated by her verbal flapping and gave up. "Never mind."

"I only take it off when I'm alone." He answered.

"I figured."

"How so?"

"Well um…" _you seemed so practiced…_ "You wouldn't wear it otherwise, so it wouldn't be so easy for you to…"

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?"

"Fine, suit yourself then." She huffed and went back to her filing.

"You weren't bad yourself." He looked away with a cough. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd kissed masked men before."

"No, never." She fumbled slightly with the file she was putting away.

"Was it beginner's luck? Guess I can expect you to get worse next time then."

"Next time?" she felt her whole face going red as she continued to hide behind files.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it."

She sighed, thinking it over as she wandered over to get more of the files on her desk. "No, you're right. I mean, as long as 'this' is still hanging over us, there will be a lot more situations like that, won't there?"

"I hope not."

"Oh?" She glanced at him to check whether he meant to say that out loud.

Apparently he did, as he showed no surprise. "I just… What they said about you was out of order and complete rubbish."

"What do you mean?"

"Another day Sakura." He grunted, attempting his best to end the subject. "I'm too tired for this now."

"What are you trying to get out of?" She demanded, hands on hips as she read him like a book.

"Naruto is going to be here soon."

She paused, about to criticize him for lying, when what he just said registered. "Why?"

"Sasuke's review." He gave her a cool stare to make his point that he was talking business now. "I wanted to speak to you both about what is going to happen."

Paling instantly, she sat on the desk in front of him. "I swear I will marry you right now, with the whole council present, if I don't have to listen to anything about him again."

Dragging his eyes up from the sight of her legs resting either side of his chair, he attempted to remain professional. "I'm sorry Sakura. As tempting as that offer is, I really have to speak to you both; as the hokage, not as your boyfriend."

"So it is true." Naruto interrupted from the doorway, almost causing Sakura to fall forwards into Kakashi's lap in shock. "How much exactly is he paying you to be his whore Sakura?"

Recovering herself, she rounding the desk on him before slapping him so hard he fell over. "You bastard."

"Sakura!" He yelled back with a yelp. "I was joking!"

"And you don't think I have enough people laughing at me behind my back?"

"Saku-chan," Kakashi insisted, not having moved an inch from his desk, "punching Naruto through a hole in our office is not going to get me to make you leave."

"Get on with it then." She grumbled and leant against the edge of his desk.

"Get on with what Sakura?" Naruto asked quizzically.

"I need to talk to you both," Kakashi began, "about what is going to happen with Sasuke."

"Eh, what about him?"

"Well, his review was yesterday and a decision was reached. You see, he has succeeded most of his aims now, and has not presented bad behavior recently. Of course, in light of the situation with Sakura recently this may be something that needs to be re-addressed."

Noting Naruto's peaked curiosity, Sakura quickly snapped, "No, it doesn't."

"Fine then, if you don't believe it won't have much of an effect on him in the future. The conclusion came to was that the isolation of his cell was doing more harm good. However, the public would not approve of being let out, so he will be joining the service program."

What's that?" Naruto asked.

"For a few days every month to start with, he'll be put into work around the village; just menial labor, and under guarded supervision."

"So… he'll be out in Konoha? I can see him?"

"You could have visited him before Naruto, but yes, he'll be in the open."

"And you knew this yesterday?" Sakura asked; hurt breaking out in her voice.

"It wouldn't have been fair to let you know without telling Naruto."

Actually noticing the tone between his trusted teammates, Naruto kept quiet, silently observing the look on Sakura's face that said so clearly what her mouth was afraid to; _why not?_

**AN: Sorry, It's a little anti-climactic I know. Also not fantastically polished, but I felt guilty not submitting it because of a few awkward sentences… it's been written in basic form for ages.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	11. Faith

**AN: First one I've written from scratch in a long time. Had no idea where it was going from the first sentence onwards, but I knew what frame of mind it had to leave in. Very difficult.**

**Thank you so much to all the reviewers and readers that have waited patiently for this, and gave some nice support for the last chapter.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Eleven: Faith**

It had been over a week since she had 'agreed' to date him, and so far nothing had really changed between them... other than the alarmingly obvious fact that he was going completely insane.

He wondered to himself for hours, exactly how anything could be made worse by actually dating the person who'd been tormenting his thoughts, and hormones, for the last few weeks. Whether the fact that he wasn't _actually_ dating her had any bearing on this situation, only briefly crossed his mind.

That was inevitably it though, the source of all his mental turmoil was right in front of him, 10 hours a day, and technically his to take advantage of; She just wasn't doing it willingly.

He was slowly coming to a screeching acceptance that he wasn't merely distracted by his assistant and the (in his opinion) sudden appearance of her assets, but was actually infatuated with her. Last week's kiss had not helped anything at all, and now it was definitely beyond fleeting lust.

He hid it well, which was probably his only saving grace, and she seemed to be glazing over the constant stream of passing glances he failed to restrain himself from. One thing he was certain of though, as far as girlfriends were concerned (of which he'd had approximately none), he certainly didn't mind having her around.

Caught in a daydream, replaying that kiss in his head, he let himself fall into a relaxed state and took the time he had before Sakura returned from her lunch break to carelessly indulge in the stupid smile that he couldn't display when she was there.

In a startling moment of lucidity, he barely managed to retain the outward impression of responsibility as she wafted her way into the office, all smiles as her skirt floated in around her. His eye trained on her automatically over the top edge of the paperwork in his hand as she leant against the part-open doorway, speaking to an unseen presence outside.

"Yeah, she seemed to be heading in that direction when I saw her. If you head out now, you might catch her before she locks herself in. Either way, my break's over so I'll see you some other time." With a casual wave, she shut the door after herself and skipped over to deposit the bag she was holding onto the desk in front of him.

"I thought you probably wouldn't have stopped to eat, so I got Teuchi-san to make up your usual." She explained with a sweet smile, "It won't do you any harm not to run on empty the entire time you're in office."

"Thanks Saku-chan." He replied honestly, although he'd found it difficult to eat for days now. There was something disconcerting about having metaphorical insects flying around where your food was supposed to be that made it seem substantially less enticing to consume anything, basic needs be damned.

She'd gone to the trouble though, so he endeavoured his best not to let her down. With every passing moment he spend in her presence, he became more and more convinced that his life of one night stands and debauchery wasn't a waste of time at all. So far, more-than-liking her had only proven to be uncomfortable and troublesome, and he had no faith at all that this was going to change any time soon.

"You seem distracted." She pointed out, glancing over from her desk. "Is something bothering you or are you just trying to get out of work."

"If I was trying to get out of work, don't you think I wouldn't have spent the lunch break reading reports."

"So something _is _bothering you?"

"What? No..."

She didn't buy it, that much was obvious, but she at least seemed willing to humour him, which he was grateful for. "So, if you spent the last hour reading reports, does that mean you went through the most recent update to the hospital reports?"

"I did."

"So..."

_Why won't she just leave me alone...? _"I told you Sakura, I'm not going to push it just because you insist on bombarding me with questions about it, quite the opposite in fact. You were the one that was offended at the notion of using your relationship with me as sway for my professional decisions, remember."

"I know that _Kakashi,_" she emphasised, obviously annoyed by the sudden drop of her nickname along with his temper, "but just because it's something_ I_ find important, it doesn't exclude it from being important to the welfare of everyone else. It's just petty if you're going to ignore it because of that."

"You know what? It really isn't the biggest problem I have right now." He mumbled half-heartedly, "Hell, those ninja on injury leave don't even have it that bad. Every single one of us in Konoha is overworked and completely surrounded by stress and destruction. They should thank me for giving them some time off. It sure is a luxury most of us don't have, and when it all comes down to it: we aren't at war, so we can cope with acting like human beings for once instead of some species of bizarre mutants."

She took a deep breath, which served more as a way to calm him down than it did herself. He knew he was being irrational, and she knew he knew it. He was letting too much get out again, and he mentally backtracked to a calmer state of mind.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that."

"I was expecting it eventually." Sakura went back to her work as if nothing had happened. "You've got a whole couple weeks of built up tension; I'm assuming and kind of hoping. I can imagine how hard that must be."

_You have no idea..._ "How long's it been since you let loose Saku-chan?"

He watched in amusement as she flushed bright red. _That long..._

"That's none of your business." She muttered and hid herself in a report.

"Don't go telling anyone else that."

"W-What?"

"Well, if we were really dating, that kind of thing would be _exactly_ my business." He pointed out nonchalantly.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but no it wouldn't. I'm not easy."

"I don't know Saku-chan... one week you're 'not a clueless virgin', the next week you're 'not easy'. Are you going to make your mind up, ever?"

"There is a middle ground between slutty and frigid you know."

"Not to me."

"Well, don't go telling anyone else that." She smirked as she finally put down the papers, her face still a lighter pink.

If there was any of that little pink kunoichi left in her, it would be those blushes. Even the smallest hint of an insinuating comment would have her red as a tomato in seconds, though it did remain to be seen if what affected the colour of her cheeks had any effect on the rest of her.

"Yes..." He grinned to himself, not being able to restrain himself from teasing her a little more, "I wonder what your friends would say if I just turned around and pointed out publically that, what with my reputation for sleeping with anything that moves (which, by the way, I resent full-heartedly), you would have to be an absolute fire-cracker in the bedroom to have kept my interest from wandering as long as you have."

She scowled. "You do that and I'm 'dumping' you right now."

If there was anything she could possibly have said to guarantee that he would shut up and not speak that threat again, it would be that. His heart almost stopped at the thought that she could so easily leave him stranded like that, even despite the trouble the situation was putting him into; that would not be good thing.

* * *

Deciding to at least make an attempt at normalcy, Tenten was in the process of making herself lunch. On an average day, she would probably have just grabbed something on the way back home, but with the influx of time on her hands, she decided it wouldn't be the end of the world to try to make something herself.

As difficult as it may have been to chop vegetables with only one arm, she was a weapon's mistress and there was nothing she couldn't do with a knife in her hand. If she thought too carefully about it, she'd probably realise this was more than a little evident, as in her distracted state she had been dicing and slicing to almost microscopic levels.

What that lazy ass of a ninja had said the other day had gotten her thinking, as much as she was reluctant to admit it. She wondered if she was really not as over Neji as she'd thought. It honestly hadn't been a lie when she had said it, but even if she didn't want to be with him anymore, it didn't mean his opinion wouldn't affect her.

What would he say about her and Shikamaru being together? Would he even care, or would he just complain about them wasting their time? She'd not really thought much about dating anyone before, so she'd never had to think about how he'd react, or how she'd even want him to react.

Quite frankly, it was beyond nauseating. Recognising that the carrot she had been dismantling was practically mush, she went to pick another one out of the bag, only to realise she had left the grocery bag by the door.

"This is really not my day..." she mumbled to herself, "I've really got to get the hang of some basic motor functions."

Trudging her way out of the kitchen, she almost fell over when she noticed a figure leant up against her wall, the grocery bag held firmly in his hand. It took her a second to even realise who he was.

Her accidental squeak alerted him to her presence and he turned casually to face her. "Yo."

"Kami, you startled me."

"It's one achievement I suppose." Shikamaru smiled and passed her the bag, having overheard her curses and mutterings.

She snatched it from him, "Is something wrong with your ability to use a door?"

"I did use a door."

"Good for you." She punctuated with an incredulous glare. "Now if you don't mind, I'm really busy so..."

"I can see that. Don't worry though, I don't mind. Please continue what you were doing."

Her eyes narrowed at his bizarre attitude, "You are up to something, aren't you?"

"You have such faith in me, it's astounding."

"_...Faith_? Is that what you call it?"

"Trust then...?"

"Give me one reason why I should trust you." She sighed, contradicting herself wonderfully by turning her back on him to return to the kitchen.

"I suppose you have a point there." He glanced momentarily towards the knife she still held in her hand as he wandered over to follow her.

"Why the hell are you even here?"

"You weren't complaining before."

"Yesterday I actually needed you to be there; here... "She paused, before commencing her battle with vegetables again, "you know what I mean."

He leant himself against the doorway cockily. "Why so flustered? You weren't doing something you shouldn't have been were you?"

"As if I would!" She began to chop with more frustration with every sentence he said.

"Kami you get worked up easily... no wonder no one takes you seriously." He chuckled lowly.

"Do yourself a favour and get out would you?"

"No, I think I'm ok here."

Gritting her teeth, she tried to hold back the expletives she was thinking of. "Try re-thinking that logic."

"I don't see any reason why I should."

Twisting the blade between her fingers, she glanced over her shoulder at the intruding presence. "Just for the record, I really... really hate you."

"What for?" He feigned innocence.

"You are the _epitome_ of everything I hate. I mean, just because you're a freaking genius you think everyone should just do everything you say, and conform to your stupid assumptions. How the hell Ino could put up with you on a team for as long as she did, and still come out of it with a high enough opinion of you to hold a crush I have no idea, but she deserves an award."

He quirked an eyebrow, "You seriously think I look down on you because of _my_ personality defects? I suppose it has nothing to do with the fact that you fail at everything you start?"

"You bastard!" Spinning, she threw the knife in her hand at startling speed, straight at him.

He looked over to the kitchen utensil, imbedded into the door a mere inch from his head, and smirked, "As I thought... you don't really need to take mission leave at all do you?"

Stunned that he had anticipated her actions, Tenten stood still as a petulant child, staring at the floor. "Need to... no. Have to."

"So that explains why you are so cranky... now why did you feel you had to make it out to be like you were a pathetic waste of a kunoichi?"

"I am... You even said so yourself."

He frowned instinctively, "I was just trying to get your blood boiling so I could test my theory. You really have no self-esteem, do you?"

"No... I'm pathetic enough to believe everything someone tells me, no matter how stupid it is." She glared sarcastically.

"Yes... yes you are."

The sharpness snapped back to her eyes. "Hey! If you keep trying to manipulate my responses like that I will be forced to kick you out; which, by the way, I should be doing anyway considering the fact you weren't invited in the first place."

"You know what you should do?" He ignored her.

"No, what _should_ I do?"

"You should stand yourself in front of a mirror once in a while, before you fix yourself to other people's likings, and just say 'hey, I'm cool just the way I am'."

She wandered over to remove the knife from the woodwork, "You say that to yourself every day, don't you?"

He smirked, "No. I don't need to. I never cared what other people thought."

"Shut up." She pouted, pulling the weapon/utensil free with one big tug.

He chuckled lightly. "Interesting to know what you thought of me though."

"What gives you the right to barge in here and decide to change who I am to your liking?"

He rested a hand over hers, causing her to realise that she had been pointing the blade at his face. "I'm not."

Withdrawing quickly, she stood back. "What_ are_ you doing then?"

"I'm trying to help, like you asked me to. Also, I'm trying to get to know you a little better."

"You couldn't actually ask first? Or, say, wait till I let you in?"

He pretended to think it over; then smirked at her again. "I don't think so, no."

"Ok, I'm going to try a substantially less subtle rephrasing of the question I've been asking you for five minutes and you sure as hell better give me a direct answer. Why are you in my apartment?"

"It's convenient."

She stabbed the knife into her counter in irritation. "What the-?"

"...For your injuries. If I'm here then they can be dealt with quickly, rather than you waiting around for me when you could be heading out places. I know _I_ have no intention of adjusting my sleeping schedule."

"Well you're gonna-"

"... sofa, I got it."

"Don't think you know everything I'm thinking." She scowled at him.

His eyebrow rose again, "You weren't going to make me sleep on the sofa?"

"No, I was, just... stop it."

"No self-esteem and yet amazingly coherent... I think I'm getting to know you better already." He chuckled as he left the room to fall back onto the sofa.

"I won't hesitate to hurt you!" she shouted through from the other room.

"You know, if this is the way you treat your boyfriend, it's no wonder Neji never fell for you."

"You are not my boyfriend." She glared from the doorway as she strode over to him.

"Well..."

"You know what I meant!"

"You told me not to anticipate your thoughts."

She took a deep breath before leaning in close to him, one knee balanced next to him on the sofa. "You were provoking me to find out if I could still fight. You found out I could. So why are you still trying to irritate me?"

He grinned through his lips at her. "I'm not _trying_."

"I hate you." She laughed back, much to his surprise.

"Ok, now you've lost me."

"It's one achievement I suppose."

**AN: Let me know what you think. More KakaSaku in the next chapter, and a little break for ShikaTen I think.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	12. The kind

**AN: So I let time pass a little again... Things would just be weird if they progressed too fast in the timeline.**

**Thank you so much to all the reviewers and readers that have continued reading from the last chapter, and to any newbies who've just come to the story. I am so relieved that this is coming along a little faster now. **

**Three days between updates... aren't you guys lucky?  
**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Twelve: The kind**

_That girl's getting too comfy around Shikamaru… she's picking up his bad attitude._

Sakura had made a speedy exit as soon as the door slammed into her face. It was difficult to fathom why Tenten had been so offended by her question, especially seen as it had absolutely nothing to do with her. Maybe it was a little mad to appear at the girl's apartment so early in the morning, just to ask what else she had told Kakashi over a week ago, but it's not like Sakura was lacking a decent reason.

He'd been distant for a while now, which she'd just put down to his bad mood while he was adjusting to his role. It's true that he didn't have much time off for himself, and it seemed to be getting to him. She wondered though, whether he knew something that was keeping him from communicating with her about it. He still joked and teased whenever he got the chance, but the smiles never filled his eyes like they usually did.

To have convinced her to actively check out what was bothering him; it said heaps about how different he was being. Whether she was just being paranoid or not, it was important as part of her job to put a stop to the situation before the public started to notice; and so far, the public had been a lot more accepting than she expected.

As she wandered back through the village on her way to the Hokage tower, she sub-consciously paid closer attention to the conversations going on around her.

"Hey look, it's the Hokage's girlfriend." someone pointed out to a friend in hushed tones.

A disgruntled female voice replied, "Urgh, it's just not fair if you ask me. Of anyone in the village, he had to choose her…"

"There's nothing we can do."

"I don't know, I can think of a few things…"

"I wouldn't if I were you. Wasn't she the Godaime's apprentice?"

"Yes, she was," a third voice chimed in, "and was trained by the Rokudaime himself when she was a genin. There's nothing a civilian could do to her."

"When she was a genin?!" The first voice grunted in amusement. "Well, we knew he was a bit of a debaucher but I never thought the Rokudaime could be a pedophile."

The female gasped in horror. "No! It couldn't be like that. He's a better man than that."

"Then perhaps, you should be more respectful of your Hokage's decisions." Another women pointed out, "At least he's making an effort to clean up his act."

Smirking to herself, Sakura moved on at a slighter quicker pace as she looked forward to feeding this all back to Kakashi. His plan seemed to be working at least, even if it was making him miserable. Things just couldn't quite go her way though, as she ran into someone at the door that almost sent her onto her rear.

"Whoa there Sakura-chan." Kotetsu laughed as he held her from falling over. "Are you in a rush or something?"

"I'm so sorry!" she squeaked, glancing up at him nervously. "I really don't know what got into me."

"Well, spending as much time as you do with Kakashi, it's no wonder you're flustered."

"What?!"

"All day at work, all evening on those little walks you guys go on… do you ever get time to yourself?"

"I uh… I sleep."

He nodded, obviously expecting that much. "So, um… is he taking a day of work soon?"

"Why? Are you planning to get him hammered?" She asked skeptically.

"No. I'm bored stiff! There's no work around without Tsunade giving us errands."

"You hated doing her errands."

"Yeah, but it beats sitting around doing nothing."

She glanced up at the tower, knowing she'd be late if she didn't finish this soon. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

She walked into the office to find him nowhere in sight and almost groaned out loud. After two weeks of officially dating, he still hadn't gotten the hang of turning up when he was supposed to despite the impression it might give of his attitude to her or his position. Honestly, it was more than beginning to grate on her.

She paused before she could get really angry though, as she noticed the window hanging open, leaving a chilly breeze in the room that cooled all the hot blood in her veins. Sighing, she went over to shut it, only to find Kakashi sat on the ledge outside, legs hanging over Konoha with a heavy expression.

"Hey," she sat beside him, keeping her limbs within safety's reach. "You aren't planning on jumping are you?"

"No, it's nothing like that Saku-chan. I'm just thinking over some things."

"Do you always think in the coldest place you can find?" She shivered sub-consciously.

He grumbled under his breath, "Nothing's stopping you from going inside."

Looking for some way to cheer him up, she put on her best smile "What use would I be then?"

Taking the hint, he laughed half-heartedly under his breath, "You'd be able to warm me up later."

"I doubt that"

"Sakura…what do you think about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You are closer to me than anyone, so what do you think of me?"

"As a person, as a friend, as a teacher…?"

"As a man." He ran a hand into his hair, demonstrating to her just how much he was shaking. "As a boyfriend."

"I hate the term boyfriend, it sounds juvenile."

"As a partner then, how do I compare to that Hiroki guy?"

Sakura gulped, "I uh… I can't really compare you to… him."

"Why not? Am I that bad?"

Noting that he seemed reluctant to look up, she decided not to either, shifting her gaze to join his as he watched over Konoha. "No… I am."

"I don't understand."

She took a deep breath. "He never existed, ok? I lied."

"That would explain why Tenten knew nothing about him." He replied calmly, although she could hear his heart beating out of his chest. "Why would you lie about that?"

"Everyone knows your reputation. You are so experienced I just didn't want to sound half as lame as I really am. I've never been with anyone before… I'd never even been kissed."

"Wow… Sakura, that's… um…"

"Don't feel sorry for me. I could have told you earlier."

"True, you could have. This is a big commitment you made to me then… I always thought you were the kind of person who values her first kiss."

It was going to take some guts for her to admit what she was about to, but if it was going to help him to act normal again, then it was necessary. "So did I… but I can't say it was a bad first kiss to have. I'll still treasure it."

He seemed more relieved than shocked. "Really?"

"We ninjas don't have many people we hold close. I'm glad my first kiss was with someone I'm not going to lose, rather than a stupid crush I'll never see again."

She could see from a brief sideways glance that he knew she was thinking about Sasuke when she'd made that comment. "That means a lot Sakura. Thank you for telling me."

"It probably didn't help you much with what was worrying you though."

"Actually it kind of did, in a way. I had just been thinking to myself, about whether I really was any use as a partner. I can't help wondering if, had I not asked you as my assistant, you would have stayed with me this long…"

"Don't be ridiculous, this isn't anywhere near what I would class as 'long term'. Until we are actually living together, shopping together, spending time with each other's family and friends…"

"You've thought about that stuff."

"Well, yeah. I've always pictured myself a housewife one day. I've never been bound for ninja glory."

"I've never thought about a future like that." His morose tone returned again. "To be honest, I half expected to be dead by now. Now I'm getting older though, and I might well not get a chance for a while."

"A chance to die?" Sakura sat up, alarmed. "Did you honestly think that's all you would amount to?"

"Yes. I did, but now I see it's not going to be the case. The council, and Konoha, needs me to have a future. I need to leave a legacy that has nothing to do with jutsu, and I need to grow old, really old.

"The thing is… I can't do it alone. There's going to become a point where your duty doesn't cover it anymore, and you'll leave me. I just have no idea whether I'll be capable of finding someone else who would stay with me."

She spoke without even thinking as she processed his words. "Unless I somehow fall in love with you…"

"What?"

"Sorry, wrong time for jokes." She quietly held his hand. "The future is daunting for everyone. We just have to muddle through and try not to worry about it. After all, no matter how much we fret, one day it will always come."

He didn't respond, but turned his head up from the street to meet her eyes. He'd been motionless for so long, that just that simple movement caught her off guard. She found she could do nothing but stare into his gaze, entranced by the foreign look to it. _What is he doing…?_

So much was her concentration faulted, that she didn't even notice when his lips had met hers, warming her from the inside as he took her breath away.

All the emotion he poured into the contact as he reached his arms around her to pull her close was overwhelming and for the first time in her life, she appreciated what it felt like to have her knees go weak underneath her. If it wasn't for the fact that she was sitting down, and he was holding onto her like his life depended on it, she probably would have collapsed by now.

It was so much more than the brief kiss they had shared over a week ago, although it didn't feel any less right, merely reminding her of what she'd put to the back of her mind. Even when their lips finally parted, their bodies did not; as Kakashi held her waist close like it was precious to him.

She sank into him with wide eyes; stunned at the emotion he had used that seemed so genuine. It was so strange for him to make such a dramatic expression of feelings without provocation.

Only, of course, it wasn't without provocation, she quickly revised as she felt him speak to the presence she hadn't previously noticed.

"What do you want?" He called out impatiently.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." Ino giggled, "No one answered so I figured it wouldn't matter too much if I just let myself in."

Sakura groaned and pulled out of Kakashi's embrace, silently cursing her stupidity. "Pig, why are you here?"

"Well I came to speak to the Hokage, but I can see you're…" She giggled again, "Busy."

"Kaka-kun, you know my friend, pig-girl, right?"

Ignoring their childish squabbling, Kakashi spun on his perch and sighed. "What is the matter Yamanaka-chan?"

"Shikamaru is the matter. I've just come back from a week long mission, wondering why he was irresponsible enough not to turn up, just to find out from some chunin at the gate that _you_ gave him mission leave."

"What is your problem with this?"

"You are helping him to ignore me." She snapped at him, her amusement cut off by the sudden remembrance of her reason in being there.

"I am helping him to provide assistance to a fellow ninja. His absence has no relevance to your personal matters."

"But…"

"This is a closed discussion. If there is a genuine problem, you must sort it out yourself."

On the point of screaming, Ino spun to face her friend, who until this point had been ignoring the entire argument. "Argh! Forehead, can't you tell him to-"

His own patience wore off; threatening to undo everything Sakura had done in returning his better mood. "Yamanaka-chan, if you are suggesting that Sakura would use her influence as my partner to sway my professional decisions, I can find my own ways to deal with you."

"Of course not Hokage-sama," she spoke though gritted teeth before turning to leave. "I'm sorry for taking up your valuable time."

Once she was gone, Sakura let a heavy breath escape her. "She's not going to talk to me for days now."

"Sorry." He told her honestly, regret in his voice.

"No, no it's a good thing." She smiled.

"Is she always that intense?"

"Are you kidding me? That was tame. You should have seen her as a Sasuke fan girl."

He went back to watching the village skyline. "The whole prospect fills me with dread…"

"Guess, it's a good job ninja's can't time travel then." Sakura, now with the feeling returning to her limbs, headed back into the office.

"Where are you going?" he protested, standing up beside her.

"To do some work."

A hand on her shoulder, he prevented her from moving any further. "I wasn't finished."

"Why, what do you-?" she was cut off as he gave her a peck on the lips and disappeared inside.

"Kakashi!!" She stormed in after him. "What the hell was that for?"

"Fun?" He shrugged, leaning casually against the wall.

"One of these days I'm genuinely going to kill you." She laughed under her breath and went over to her desk to start working. There were some things that just didn't need to be fought on, especially when she didn't honestly care… not that she would ever tell him that.

"No, you won't."

She could hear the smirk in his voice, obviously proud of his ability to get away with anything, but she'd have to disprove him another time. Shuffling papers around to find something she could focus on other than the distracting tingles she felt across her lips, she kept up the banter.

"No, I won't, but not because I don't want to. I'll still be imagining your mutilation in my head…"

"That might disturb me a little too much. I wouldn't know when you're doing it."

"I guess you'll just have to assume I'm doing it all the time then."

"I guess so." He laughed, obviously stepping closer to her, without her even having to turn around to notice it.

"You know what? I'm going to try actually getting my job done. Maybe you should consider doing the same…?"

Soon he was right behind her, mere heartbeats from touching her, sending shivers down her spine in anticipation of what he was going to do next. _Perhaps letting him get away with that last one was a bad idea…_ she pondered, privately checking for chakra signals in the area in case someone else had barged in without her realizing… she found none.

The response was dramatically different from what she expected though, as she felt him whisper, so close to her ear that she could feel the ripples of his breath rush down the curves of her neck.

"Move in with me."

* * *

**AN: Let me know what you think... ( I know, it's cruel)**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	13. Enthusiasm

**AN: Ok, short, sweet, and kind of sloppy. There was going to be another part, but leaving it for any longer would just be an offence.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Twelve: Enthusiasm**

He wasn't really that comfortable. He wasn't really that tired. He wasn't really in the mood to nap. He was, however, disturbed enough by that combination of occurrences that the only sensible option in his mind was to turn over and try to sleep it off. Unsurprisingly, after trying this approach for what was nearing too many hours to make sense, it didn't really work.

If he was honest, he was just avoiding getting up out of boredom, and he really wanted to test his new landlords reactions to him being his lazy layabout self. What he wasn't sure on yet was whether he wanted her to just shrug it off and therefore prove herself to be the least troublesome woman he knew, or whether he was craving another heated argument.

For the last week he'd been sleeping on her sofa, he'd made sure not to lie about for too long, just in case she'd forgotten he was staying there and he would end up with a kunai to his throat (after all, with his IQ, it would be moronic not to account for her short temper and quick skills). Over the last few days though, he was fed up of acting like a decent human being; it was too much effort.

A cushion landed in his face to abruptly cut off his absent minded ponderings. "You lazy bastard… you're still lying about? That's the third time in days!"

He grunted in response, quite amused by her response.

"If you're not off my sofa by the time I'm done with breakfast, I'm kicking you to where the sun's gonna shine, whether you're dressed or not." she yelled on her way through to the kitchen.

"Sempai?" he called out.

"What?!"

"Make double servings, would you?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

He wandered into the kitchen after pulling a shirt over his head. "You don't have to shout."

"Oh I bet I do."

"Either way, if you want me up, I need food."

"There's a village worth of places with food." She deadpanned.

"What impression would that give?"

"That you are the most insufferable person I have _ever_ met?"

"Oh, but you don't mind me _that_ much." He leant closer, putting himself just a little too far into her span of attention. He was playing with her, but it was just too much fun. She was fascinating to him; she spent her entire time arguing with him and yet he didn't find her remotely troublesome.

For a moment she was stunned silent as she tried to figure out what he was doing, and he took full advantage by ghosting his hand over hers. A sharp pain interrupted his fun though, shortly followed by a smirk that spread across her features, as she stretched one of his fingers back the wrong way.

"Konoha has no chakra healing capabilities…" she grinned ominously, "do you really want to take the risk?"

"You need that hand." He pointed out as casually as he could.

"Not until I ask for it." She conceded, but kept the fire in her eyes. "Is that clear?"

"Emphatically so."

"Right, so that boundary is firmly set…"

"You're still going to make breakfast though right?"

She sighed heavily, with direct eye-contact that made it perfectly clear how much she intended to say on the matter. "Fine, but that's it. I'm not your house-girlfriend."

"'Never said you were."

"Why do I get the feeling there's more to that?"

"I don't know. Perhaps you're paranoid?"

"You aren't going to argue when I tell you to make your own damn meals?"

"No, why should I? It's only fair…"

"You…"

He smirked, loving how easily riled up she got. "What about me?"

"I can't be bothered to come up with another insult… but I really hate you!"

"You know… I don't think I'm ever going to get bored of hearing that."

"Well that's a shame." She half-heartedly grunted as she spun around the kitchen.

"Why in such a rush?"

"I have plans today; plans that involve actual sunlight and getting away from this apartment."

He hadn't expected that. The only time she'd been out since he'd been there was to stock up on groceries. Actually, he had no idea what she did sitting around her apartment all day, but she did it locked in her bedroom away from his prying eyes.

"You'll come out with me again at some point, right?" He asked honestly, getting tired of sitting around as well.

"That depends on whether you're planning to use me as kissing practice again."

"Well, it's inevitable."

"No it's not." She replied in an oddly soft tone. "I'm fairly certain there's more to a relationship than lip chafing; despite what you seem to think."

"I was drunk!"

"You remembered then, huh?"

He fought off the heat spreading across his face with every inch of his conscious mind. "Well, yeah… kind of hard not to."

"So you remember saying I was a pretty good kisser?" She turned, looking him straight in the eye, and putting down the bowl in her hand.

"No… but I remember that you were." He automatically flinched, waiting for the bruise that never came.

"Oh really?" A genuine smile flushed across her face as she stepped over to lean an arm on the wall next to him.

Suddenly he could feel, not just see, how her reputation as a formidable kunoichi had come about. The concentration she had trained herself to call upon on demand ensured her target accuracy under any situation. It evidentially also gave her an un-rivalled ability to make direct eye-contact without so much of a flinch of fear.

Her eyes glistened, inches away from his, close enough that he could no longer trust his slightly blurring vision to read the emotions in those golden-brown portals. His breath caught impulsively as he felt the edges of her fingertips ghosting across the surface of a hand... a wrist... an arm... (to decide which would go far beyond his current mental capacity); close enough to disturb the tiny hairs dusting his skin, prickled as they were through the electric charge between their two bodies, though not quite close enough to make the contact he began to ache for.

He was beginning to lose control, and no longer cared why she was doing this, just that she was and it felt too good to stop. The sensation of her breath dancing lightly across his lips wiped away what little power he had over his impulses. He leant forward, prepared to initiate the promised kiss with full passion.

Then he was cut short by pain... worse pain than he'd experienced in any training or mission... pain that eliminated all fond thoughts and feelings... harsh impact that crushed vital parts... followed by the sight of a smirk as moisture clouded his vision.

"That's for using tongue for that second kiss."

* * *

She felt him whisper, so close to her ear that she could feel the ripples of his breath rush down the curves of her neck.

"Move in with me."

As certain as those few words seemed to be, she could feel the nerves in him, building up like static electricity as he waited for her answer. His soft tone was contradicted as she could feel the rapid thumping of his heart through the thin air between them and for a second that was all she felt.

As she finally comprehended the question he'd just asked her, all her previous thoughts fell right through the floor to make room for complete astonishment. "Kakashi…"

"I'm sorry, that was a stupid idea." He coughed as he attempted to assemble his dignity.

She twisted her head around to face him over her shoulder, not trusting herself to turn to him completely. "Did I seriously just hear what I thought I heard?"

"That depends on whether you heard that I want you to move in with me."

She thought about this for a second. "How did you know my lease is ending?"

"I didn't, but that's convenient."

"We both know you better. You knew."

"Yes, I knew." He nervously smiled.

"So how long have you been planning to ask me that?" She wondered idly.

"A few days…"

Letting her body follow her head, she leant back against her desk for support, "Ok."

"You don't have to say anything right now-"

"No…" she interrupted him, unable to quite make eye-contact, "Ok."

His eyes almost jumped completely out of their sockets, unable to hide the shock of her decision.

"Wha…?"

"I'm certain you aren't stupid enough to offer that if you didn't have room, so I'm sure it's safe to assume you're no longer living in that waste disposal site you were inhabiting when you were teaching us." She explained logically, having put all of her emotions on hold for the sake of sanity. "I'm also sure you're aware that my landlady is a waste of time and I can't really afford any of the other places around Konoha… it'd be irresponsible of me to say no."

"So, uh…"

"I have to move out by Friday. Just let me know, ok?"

Completely dumbstruck, Kakashi began to grasp at straws. "Sakura, you do know I don't have a spare room right?"

"What would the council say if you had me put in a separate room anyway?"

"I never thought about that."

She laughed, attempting to lighten the mood, but it only came out as a criticism. "I swear, I've had two minutes to think about this and I've already thought it through more than you have. I bet you haven't thought about the fact you'll have no excuses for being late either."

He detected her drop into immaturity almost immediately, and straightened himself behind her. "No, I hadn't. I have to admit, I was so caught up trying to figure out whether you'd feel I was patronizing you by trying to pay back the huge debt I owe you for this whole dating thing."

"You were worried?" This managed to shock her almost as much as his offer had.

"I was. I honestly don't know what I would do if you stormed out on me."

"Kakashi… you really aren't as hopeless as you think."

"So…" he coughed un-subtly to avoid the subject, "have you got much stuff that needs moving?"

"Why, are you worried I'll turn your whole apartment into a girl zone?"

"House actually, but no, I was going to offer help bringing things over."

"A house? Really?"

"It's only a small one. It used to have another bedroom but I covered it into a library."

"For Icha Icha no doubt."

"Amongst other things."

"I really never had you down as the kind of person who'd be living in a house."

"Not many people do. I only really stay there to save on rent. That and the garden is big enough for my dogs."

"You keep them around?"

"They come and go as they please."

"I bet that gets messy."

"It probably wouldn't shock you if I said that it's messy enough already."

"Not really."

"So, um… the offer's still there, if you want a hand with bags."

"If I can punch a boulder into sand, I can carry a few bags. I might need to know where you live though."

"Well, yeah…" he scratched his head nervously "I tell you what; bring your bags here tomorrow, and you can move in when I go home."

_This is really happening, _Sakura internally panicked, _I'm really moving in with Kakashi-sensei… to a proper house, like a genuine couple…_ But hell would freeze solid before she'd let him know how completely terrifying this was for her, especially not after his freshly revealed self-doubts. "That sounds sensible. Won't it be a little short-notice though?"

"Don't worry about it. Now… didn't we have work to do?"

He was obviously trying to put an end to the conversation before things shifted back around to awkward. Frankly, the direction this bizarre turn of events was sending them in was confusing, and Sakura was very thankful for the interruption, even if she had virtually no intention to stop probing his reactions.

"You do yes. I have to say it's a little more interesting than the usual mundane nonsense, what with Koyo Matsuri starting today."

"Oh great." He sighed dejectedly.

"Not too much." She scowled at his unnerving lack of interest in the well-loved festival. "Missions are held for the next week as every nation nearby will be amidst their celebrations. You do have to station a few shinobi to keep the peace though, and being the new hokage, people will be asking your opinion on a few things."

"Isn't that civilian's concern?"

"Whether you like it or not, you are the leader to the civilians in this town as well."

"I know..."

"Just sign a few of these, tick red or green, you'll be done in no time. Tsunade-chiyou used to add a few personal notes, but no one could read your handwriting anyway."

He held out a hand for the forms in her hand, hoping a trip back to his desk would put an end to the workload. "Fine, hand them over..."

"So um... about the festival...?" She tried, using this as a way to figure out if there was anything else behind his offer of accommodation.

Without as much as a head turn, his shoulders sank. "What now?"

"Are we going?"

"We?"

"Yeah, I mean... we haven't gone on a 'date' for a while." She carefully avoided eye-contact as he sat down to face her again. "Don't couples usually go to festivals together?"

She could hear the scowl in his voice, "Not me. I don't."

"Oh, ok." _That answers that then._

"Don't take it personally. I don't like going to festivals, never have."

"I'm not taking it personally. Not unless you're about to tell me I can't go because you aren't."

"Do as you please."

"Fine."

As much as she couldn't picture Kakashi as the type to attend a Momijigari the way she and her friends had always done, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little annoyed at his disregard of her suggestion, especially as it was one of the few things she'd had genuine enthusiasm about for weeks. So far, every one of their dates had been exactly the same; walking around the village after their work day had ended until they both gave up and went back to the same little cafe. It was probably the only date he knew, not being the type of guy to ever have to come up with a second date, so the lack of originality wasn't dramatically surprising.

She could justify it as much as she'd like, but it didn't stop her hoping desperately that things would change for the more interesting. The tragic thing was, that she was actually really enjoying the time she had to get to know the enigma a little better, and things were getting a little over-comfortable whenever she was around him now. The jokes had almost completely slipped out of the atmosphere in the office now, as she found that they slipped into an effortless routine that got the work done so that they could leave all the teasing and innuendo for after hours. Professional compartmentalisation it certainly was, and she loved it, not that she'd ever admit it.

The last few days, Kakashi had gone quiet, and the 'date's had slipped into nothingness. It was worrying at best; that he seemed to be spending every hour of every day worrying about things it seemed he couldn't even tell her. When the civilians began to make noises about Koyo Matsuri, she had almost leapt at imaginings that this could be the pickup they so desperately needed. Now her hopes had been plundered and all she had to look forward to was putting up with the inevitable parties she'd have to attend alone while tormenting herself about their second, knee bending, kiss and the prospect of living with him.

* * *

**AN: Brief explanations, in case you're interested... I'm assuming you all have the common sense to realise what Tenten did to Shikamaru, so I won't bother patronising you all.**

**Koyo Matsuri is an Autumn Leaves Festival, celebrating the harvest and the beginning of Autumn (watch out for the puns on that in the next chapter). These take place roughly mid-November and are seen as official holidays.**

**Momijigari is the name for Autumn Leaves viewing parties, seen in the same way as the Hanami (Sakura viewing), with food and fun all around; mostly popular with younger kids but in this story, an excuse for ninjas to kick back.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	14. Beginning

**AN: A little longer than I usually keep these chapters, and not fabulously polished either. You'll probably have to read properly to get most of the little hints here and there.**

**I apologize for die-hard Kaka-Saku fans, but the foil plot is heating up a little too much to be ignored for a little while, so things are fairly ShikaTen orientated ATM.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Fourteen: Beginning**

Tenten giggled to herself as she thought back to her fantastic victory over her live-in nuisance, trying her best to put all guilt to the back of her mind. She knew it had to hurt, but if it got the point across, than it was entirely necessary not to mention completely hilarious.

It hadn't taken her long to get ready and leave, during which time there was no sign of him anywhere in her apartment. _I hope I haven't scared him off completely..._ she thought to herself as she strolled lazily down the street on her way to the downtown stalls.

Before the partying started, she always made a point of looking at all of the stalls and games on offer as part of the Koyo Matsuri, as more often than not, it was the cheapest and easiest way to find what she probably _should_ be wearing to the Momijigari. It was relaxing too, just to marvel at the rich colours of the stalls and their goods, before the drunkenness kicked off.

A loud voice interrupted her train of thought. "Tenten!"

As she turned to be greeted with the sight of the blonde running towards her, tightness flushed through her body, "Oh... Ino... listen, about..."

"Never mind that." She waved her off casually. "Have you seen some of the stalls they've got this year? They are really welcoming in the new hokage. I wonder where I'm going to find the money...?"

"Ino, are you mad at me?" Tenten persisted, having expected to be flayed alive.

"Why should I be? Anyway... they have this whole section of music over where the bigger sections of trees are in the park. A bunch of us are gonna head up to the rooftop of an apartment building over there for our own little Momijigari. We figure that the music would be loud enough up there to get some decent dancing going on." It was a tradition as old as the festival itself. Civilians couldn't so easily make their way to the top of a building, so the ninja escaped up there to let loose out of the judgemental eyes of the public, taking special advantage of the mission leave to ensure hangover recovery time.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Well last time I checked, Hinata is going, which means Neji is going, which usual signals a new hell if you don't turn up." She laughed, linking their arms together like they were best pals.

"I should have known..."

"You don't have any other plans right? Ha... look who I'm talking to, of course you've not got any plans. Come on, I think I'm fashionably late enough by now; if you come in with me I guess it'll make me look better."

Tenten sighed, "This is not going to go well."

* * *

As they approached, her heart sunk slightly. There it was, clear as day, the reason Kakashi would live in a house of all things by himself. A simple sign, carved out of stone and half hidden by overgrown plants, hanging to the left of the doorway.

'_Hatake.'_ it read. This was his family's home... his childhood home.

It was like she'd taken a step out of the street and walked into a life; a life he was letting her become a part of. Ordinarily, she'd say that was a wrong way to feel, but instead she was biting back a smile. This was the future she'd always hoped for.

Of course, she'd never imagined in her wildest fantasies that it would be her ex-sensei who would welcome her into his home, and she had always thought the moment she'd walk into a home like this, she'd have an arm around her waist that loved her. _That sort of thing just never comes true..._

She was slightly awed by the traditional dwelling. It showed an astounding level of domestic comfort. The place was all on one floor, with a stepped entrance for them to remove their shoes before stepping inside.

Never in a million years had she expected to find herself in a place like this. The whole place was just fantastical to her, although she did wonder at how Kakashi fit like a glove as he casually slipped off his sandals. He pushed them to one side of the step before offering to take her bags so that she could do the same.

The only sound was a tinkling of chimes sounding from far off across the building, which only amplified the silence between them. From the second they had left the Hokage tower, they had fallen into a condemned march, both stuck in a state of balance between fear and anticipation for what would come of this.

Without a word he began to lead her through the house on a quick tour to let her orientate herself. She noticed that nearly all the doors were slid across, as though they were just arches in the wall, giving her a direct sight into most of the rooms.

On the right was a room, empty but for a couple of small sofas, obviously completely unused for a long time. Mirroring it was a twin room, almost as empty, although one chair seemed more worn as it rested off joint to the simple table. Lighter patches on the walls told her that once this was a family home, filled with pictures and memories. _Is it really too much for him,_ she wondered, _that he can't even keep pictures of his childhood here?_

"Where is everything?" She let slip, unable to contain her curiosity.

He had barely noticed she had stopped, and flinched at the sound of her voice cutting the air. "What do you mean? I don't need much."

"No, that much is clear. I meant... this is your family home, isn't it?"

"You're observant."

She shrugged. "I can't help it."

"You won't find any old toys or anything. Everything got cleared out when my parents died." He carefully avoided eye-contact. "Anything left stays in my library."

"I wasn't even thinking of that, but thanks for revealing your paranoia."

"The bathroom has two doors." He changed the subject swiftly by pointing to the shut door just along the passage. "So just make sure you lock both."

"Is there anything else vital to know?"

He lifted a finger to point to another shut door at the end of the hallway. "That's my library. The door stays shut at all times, for a reason."

They walked passed a spacious and blatantly idle kitchen before turning into a second jointed corridor that led to the final room of the house. Sliding doors along the left wall were obviously built to open onto what she could only guess to be a garden.

He put down her bags (which she only then noticed he was still carrying) at the foot of the nicely sized double bed. "If you have anything else to ask, feel free. I usually just sprawl in the middle of the bed so feel free to pick whichever side you want, and I've not actually used the wardrobes till this morning."

"Nice of you to admit that." She smiled, still gazing around in fascination.

"Well I don't see why not to. You're completely welcome to do what you like to the place."

She turned to him in shock "Is nothing precious to you?"

The look in his eyes told her most of what she needed to know. There were still reminders here that he didn't want, the place was full of ghosts for him.

"My Library holds everything you're not to touch. Everything else... is vastly neglected without my mother here to fuss around with details. It won't do any harm to make this a home again."

"I have to say Kakashi, this place is a definite improvement on that old dump."

He let out a little laugh as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "If you are referring to that bedsit again, I know what you mean."

"You aren't protesting it being a dump?"

"No, it was. It was all I needed though in between missions."

She sighed, "Either way, it's tidier here than you said too."

"I've tidied a lot. It really wasn't suitable for anyone to live in."

"Again, good to know." She absently ran her eyes over the room again and took a seat beside him. "Is that an en-suite?"

"It is. Sorry, forgot to mention that. It's nothing special."

"Practically luxury for me... this all is actually."

"I know, I've seen what your old place is like."

"You have?" she eyed him suspiciously.

"Well, not your place specifically, that would just be weird. Genma's place is in a similar building."

"Oh, right."

He scratched his chin absently. "So, do you need any help unpacking things, or shall I just leave you to it?"

"There's not much here to be honest, so I can probably muddle through. If you want to disappear off to your library, I'll be quiet."

"Thank you. I was just going to take a shower actually, if you don't mind."

"No, that's fine. I'm not going anywhere."

She looked up to him with a smile that reached all the way up to her eyes, and he responded with one that went all the way down to his lips.

* * *

_So many couples..._ Tenten observed with a green eye. Everyone there seemed to have made their match, so many people looking for someone to spend the increasingly colder nights with. She'd never had that luxury, and the hopeless romantic side of her wanted nothing more than to be in one of those brainless couples, stuck in each others' eyes.

Just one thing kept her back, was exactly that; she didn't want to feel brainless. It wasn't fear of rejection, or commitment, or even inevitable betrayal... it was the fear of losing herself around someone else.

She knew she couldn't escape it forever, but she'd go down fighting before she'd ever let her guard down. Being surrounded like this by people 'in love', felt like drowning to her. It wasn't even random ninja she didn't know, but people she'd worked with, trained with, fought with, which brought things even closer than she'd like.

Absolutely everyone was there; that was the trouble. On the crowded rooftop, she didn't even notice the present of her temporary roommate until she walked straight into him.

"Sempai!"

"Shikamaru!"

She soon noticed everyone around them was beginning to stare. _Of course... since the rumour of us dating started, we haven't actually been anywhere together._

Shikamaru looked away nervously, "I uh..."

"You didn't say you were coming out tonight." She tried, attempting to dispel the curiosity with mundane conversation. He was acting very odd, and though she didn't really blame him after this morning, it was attracting more attention than necessary.

"You didn't ask." He shrugged.

She frowned, "You aren't drunk again, are you?"

"No, I'm completely sober tonight."

"Well, um... I'll be..." She made a move to leave, losing her patience with the tense atmosphere.

He made a move to stop her with a hand to her arm. "We should dance."

"What?" Her eyes flared wider.

Guardedly, he let his grip on her arm slip ad moved to take a gentle hold on her hand. "I mean... do you want to dance Sempai?"

"Um..."

"You don't have to, I just thought... sorry, it's stupid."

"Alright then," she gave in, "just for a while."

"One song." He grinned. "Then I'll let you go back to whoever you came with."

She was slightly offended that he'd even suggest that she would come out with someone else, although with her recent behaviour, she wasn't really surprised.

"Actually, I'm alone. Ino dragged me here but then kinda disappeared. I was just going to head home after I found something to eat."

"That's a shame." He held her close as they began to dance. "So... what did she...?"

"I think she's ignoring the rumour." She told him, finding herself staring at the roof lights over his shoulder. As awkwardly impossible as it was to talk to someone without properly seeing their face, she couldn't help but to revel in the comfort of his hold on her. "She... she kept dismissing me every time I tried to apologize."

"You have no reason to apologize to her sempai." He spoke in soft tones.

"I think I do. I know she's been out of line but I still feel bad about this. After all, I told her she was stupid to love you, and now I..."

"You've said, and done, far worse to me."

"I know, and I feel bad about that too. I'm sorry, I..."

"Forget about Ino. Just let this moment be for me and you."

She stayed silent, unsure exactly what that meant, but unwilling to ask him directly. After a few seconds of awkwardness, she forced herself staring at his shoulder. _Why is he so supportive when I've been so horrible to him? He knows, doesn't he...? That I've been surrounded by indifference for so long my own emotions are disjointed. It feels too nice not to be ignored..._

Close to sinking into him, consequences be damned, she hastily snapped her gaze back to a coloured lantern in the distance. _What is wrong with me?_ She internally panicked. _Acting like a foolish teenage girl... he'd just laugh at me if he ever found out what I'd been thinking._

She paused all thoughts of negativity though, as she felt his hand weave itself into her hair, reaching through her bangs to hold the side of her head. It didn't seem deliberate, and it was something that no one around them would notice, but he still did it, and it still calmed her from the inside out.

Her paranoia of watching eyes and crowds of peers washed right out of her, leaving only one thought to remain; she didn't want this to end, and wouldn't care if he didn't let go of her all night.

A minute later, the music changed. They were stunned out of their reverie to let their arms drop beside them. Still, they stood mere inches from each other, unwilling to move away just yet.

Shikamaru carefully kept his voice low, "I think I'll head back... I'll pick something up for us to eat."

He left her frozen with a kiss on her cheek and a bewildered expression on her features. _Us..._

Only a second later, the odd silence clouding the air around her was replaced by a bashing to her eardrums that almost sent her embarrassingly off balance.

"What did you do?!"

"I-Ino...?" Tenten stared blankly, "What's the matter?"

"You... and Shikamaru... what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. Shikamaru and I are dating. You know that."

"I do not 'know' that! Do I sound like I knew that?! Stop lying to me!"

"I'm not lying Ino. Why would I possibly want to do that?"

"You are trying to mock me! Do you honestly believe that will make you any more popular?"

"No, and it's not what I'm trying to do."

"So let me get this right... you make fun of me for being loopy on him and then you go for him yourself?"

"Ino, it wasn't like that."

"Oh yeah, then how was it?"

"He made a move on me first, I swear."

"Sure, blame it on the inebriate. He couldn't make a move if he was paid to. I mean, why else wouldn't he have tried one on me by now?"

"He doesn't love you!"

Ino recoiled in shock. Tenten never shouted, and it honestly surprised herself. _Where did that come from?_

"I meant 'like'..." she blushed involuntarily, "not that he doesn't like you as a friend, but..."

"I could have coped," Ino glared, "if he had told me he was gay... this though, this I can't accept. Whatever you did to him, undo it and give him back to me!"

Before she could control herself, she slapped the other girl hard across the cheek. "He's not yours to take back."

"You're going to regret that." Ino snarled, cradling her cheek.

"Ino, you are really beginning to become an irritation. Would you please, for once, consider Shikamaru's feelings? He may grouch and complain about you, but he needs you to be there as a friend, and it hurts him that you can't let that rest."

"Don't you even dare try to preach to me about his feelings! I've known him much longer than you have."

"So why do you do everything in your power to push him away?" She began to walk off, attempting to prevent a fight.

"Get back here!"

"No Ino, there's nothing left I need to say."

"Then don't expect to be invited anywhere again."

**AN: I'm trying to get these out as fast as possible, because I got my place at University of Leeds, so in a few weeks time I am going to get super-insanely busy. I am also on Cosplay mode ATM, so I'm balancing fandom pursuits on a fine pole for a week or so trying to get things done before I move out.**

**Warning ahead of time: I got a little carried away the other night, so things are going to get HOT next chapter for one couple, so I'm going to have to put the rating up.**

**I think I have most of the plot lined up now though so once it's typed, things should get regular. Remember, I do reply personally to EVERY review I receive, so if you have something to ask, don't hold back, it keeps me busy.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	15. Agony

**AN: Fast update... be impressed. I'm planning to try and finish this one within the next 5 to 10 chapters, but as with all my stories it never stops growing. **

**I have to say, I'm amazed that no one picked up the quite heavy hint at the end of the KakaSaku section in the last chapter. If you look back now, you'll probably get it so hard you facepalm yourselves into a coma, but oh well... on with the story:**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Fifteen: Beginning**

If agony could have a form, it would be hers...

As he walked back through the house to find her, little reminders would be found everywhere. Her shoes beside his at the doorway, her apron hung over the hooks in his kitchen; even as he reached the bedroom, it caught his breath to open his wardrobe and find all of her clothes neatly folded beside his.

She was everywhere, in every nook and cranny, and he wasn't even remotely going to complain. Sure, it drove him mad to feel her intoxicating presence all over his home, but the place looked better, felt better, even smelled better with her there. It was a home again, and she'd only been there for an afternoon. To imagine what it would be like if she stayed with him for any longer period of time sent him into dangerous territory.

But then, he may always just be sent there anyway, just having her in his living space. He noted that the sun had gone down during the time it had taken him to shower; not that he didn't take the world's longest time in the shower, but it did point out how late they had ended up working before coming here. Thankfully, they had sensibly decided to eat on the job, so the distinct lack of food in his kitchen wasn't going to end up with them both starving, or with her beating him to a pulp.

Thinking to himself, he pulled on a t-shirt to sleep in (more than he usually would, but for Sakura's sake he erred on the side of modesty), just as the door to the en-suite swung open behind him. Turning to greet Sakura, he gave her a strong smile as he tried to hide his delight that she too had changed for bed.

Her eyes half shut from tiredness, she was brushing out the tangles from her ponytail to let her hair fall over one shoulder. She wasn't dressed too differently from him, thankfully also wearing an oversized t-shirt thrown on over a loose pair of training pants. He had been dreading (and imagining) her dressing into a little cami-top and shorts or something equally distracting, so it was a welcome change to see most of her skin covered up.

"Kami, I'm just about ready to drop." She yawned, closing her hairbrush into a draw beside the bed as she finished with it.

"Did you manage to get everything sorted?" he wondered.

"Not quite. I'll finish the rest tomorrow when I get time... if I get time."

"It's not too late." He pointed out. "Hopefully we won't have hours of extra work tomorrow."

"Well, I shouldn't think we would. The festival should be in mid-swing tonight, so there won't be much to handle." She bit her lip in thought, "Do you think...?"

"Do I think what?"

"No. Sorry, it's stupid. I'll do it by myself."

"Ok." He nodded, knowing better than to argue with her.

She started to fiddle with the throw she'd put over the bed, pulling it back so they could lie down.

"What's that for?"

"The throw? I'm sorry, just tell me if you don't want it there, because it's your bed after all. I just put it on there because it's starting to get colder now."

"Oh... I never thought about that."

"Why, what do you usually do when it gets colder?"

"Sleep elsewhere."

A little pink crept onto her cheeks as she caught onto his meaning, and she soon buried herself under covers, turning her body away from him.

He laughed lightly as he sat down on the bed, "Of course, I have no need to go elsewhere if I have _you_ right here now, do I?"

He heard her gulp as she gripped the covers a little tighter but then released. Turning to face him, she leant casually up onto one elbow, letting the covers slip down to waist level.

"How stupid of me to bring an extra blanket, when I should have known that things would be kept hot enough in here without it."

He swallowed carefully, wishing he'd never initiated the inevitable teasing. "Sakura..."

"Hai, Kaka-kun?"

"Careful with that tone. You never know when someone might take you seriously."

"You started it." She pouted.

"And you finished it." He joked with a mock sigh. "Well, I need another shower now..."

"Hey!" She hit him lightly with a laugh. "That's not funny, pervert."

She turned back over to lie down and he did the same, reaching to switch the light off as he did so. He wasn't getting any sleep tonight, but it would just make her uncomfortable should she realise why.

Insomnia he could deal with, but her... time would tell.

* * *

Sakura woke to sunlight, unusual for her on the best of days. For years, since she'd left her parents', sleep had not come easy, and nor had feeling any comfort in trying.

Now though, she felt completely awake (not a sensation you get used to if you hardly sleep), and was quite happy to stay right where she was. Her eyes tried to adjust to the brightly lit room as she sat up and scanned around her.

_I really did it..._ she breathed, _I stayed the night at Kakashi-sensei's place._ It astounded her how comfortable that felt, despite having to share a bed with him. Not that sharing a bed wasn't something they had done before, but something was completely different now that it had nothing to do with missions.

Thinking back, it was probably the best night of sleep she had experienced in over 5 years. _Maybe Ino was right... sharing a bed with someone can be relaxing._

Curious, she dared to look over her shoulder at the man lying beside her. True to his words, he had spread out in his sleep, but had managed not to sprawl anywhere she had been sleeping. It took her a good few seconds before she moved her eyes off his body to his face, allowing her to discover that he wasn't asleep at all.

His hair flattened over one eye in his sleep; his other eye was watching her curiously through a half-lidded gaze. Finding himself caught, he smiled lightly and dragged himself to stand up and make his way to the wardrobe.

She glanced to the small clock in the room to discover that they only had about half an hour before they were due to start work. Sighing, she grabbed her own clothes and hastily rushed into the bathroom to change, not for a minute acknowledging his laugh at her modesty.

Having changed in record time, she wandered out of the bathroom to find him still getting ready. Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out a tube of dark blue material and slipped it on over his head. As he pulled it up over his nose, she froze solid.

_Was that..._ she panicked, eyes unable to move from his face.

He didn't miss her bewildered gaze. "What have I done now?"

"You..." She felt her face heat up dramatically, "you weren't wearing your mask...!"

He sighed with relief and sat down on the bed while he fixed his hair around his hitai-ate. "It's taken you that long to notice?"

"Well, yeah... I guess I just didn't think about it." She pulled herself together, aware that she was staring like a fascinated child. "I didn't disappoint you did I, by not screaming the second I saw your face?" _Or by not even noticing..._

"No." His eye creased in amusement. "I can't say I wasn't expecting something though."

She sat beside him, trying not to let her eyes stick to his lower face. "Why did you...? I mean..."

"I never wear it at home."

"But I thought you said you never show your face to anyone. What about your... um... partners?"

"I don't lie Sakura." He took a deep breath before heading out of the room, throwing back over his shoulder, "You are the first person I've ever brought here."

She sat stunned as her brain struggled to comprehend this. Last night hadn't felt uncomfortable in bed with Kakashi; why should it, after the number of missions they had been on together? However, the night was not without worries on her part.

Her dreams had been disturbed constantly, wondering how many women had been in that bed with him, imagining what would have happened those countless times. Now she felt completely ridiculous; she really was the only one.

Her mind flashed back to their first kiss and immediately went into overdrive. _'You mean more to me than any other woman I know...' he said. Does this mean he really means it?_

_

* * *

  
_

"_He doesn't love you!"_

Her own words echoed around her mind, a constant reminder that her emotions were starting to cause trouble she could do without. What Ino said had not hurt, but it would hurt _him_ and for now that seemed to matter, for what reasons she couldn't even begin to understand..

Things were going so well until she opened her mouth, but now... losing control of herself, moisture began to build up in her eyes as she approached her apartment. _Why must I always be the weak one...?_

Crashing through the door, she pulled off her sling and threw it against the wall. Before she'd managed to throw her temper all the way into her bedroom, she finally noticed that Shikamaru was sitting in her main room, with food set out in front of him, waiting for her to come home.

His concern was evident as he watched her come in, "Sempai?"

She couldn't say anything to him, so she turned herself away, rubbing franticly at her eyes to stop the tears before he'd notice. It was pointless, but all she could bring herself to do that instant.

The next thing she knew, he was behind her, turning her around to face him. "What happened?"

She bowed her head, trying to hide tears that wouldn't stop. "I'm so sorry..."

"Ino..?" he guessed, keeping his voice deliberately calm.

She nodded, "I tried... I know she's a friend and your families are close, and I didn't mean to, I just..."

"Calm down sempai. It's ridiculous to get upset by her."

"I'm not upset by her, I'm upset by me!" She stopped herself and shoved her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to shout. I just know you'll hate me when you know."

"Tell me. I can see this is heavy on you and I want to help. I promise I won't get mad."

"I slapped her. I didn't mean to but I got so irrationally angry, and she was just being so insulting." She wouldn't say that she was being insulting to _him,_ she couldn't. "She's really pissed off now."

"You wouldn't be the first. How did she get you so worked up?"

"That's... It's not important. It was my fault really... just being stupid."

He obviously didn't believe her, "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I could have just humoured her. Instead I had to..." she waved him off with a fake smile, "never mind."

"You stood up to her?"

"Yeah, what do you know? I do have a backbone..."

"You really took that to heart, huh?"

"It's hard not to."

"I was just joking around sempai." He guided her over to the sofa with a hand on her shoulder, "Here, I bought food, like I promised."

"Of course, I'm so sorry." She nervously sat down as he did the same, "How ridiculous of me to get all emotional and stupid, when you've gone to all the effort."

"It's not all that much, honestly. Yeah, I kinda hoped we could just let things be a little more relaxed and friendly here tonight, after earlier..."

"It was nice." She smiled at him, before she realised that she'd even said it aloud.

"I'm glad."

_What..?_ she panicked mentally, _does that mean he just did it to make me feel better..? _

"Stop that thought."

"Eh?"

"I'm not going to ask what you were thinking, but it was beginning to get you down. The worry was written all over your face Sempai, so stop it."

She smirked at him cruelly, "Then stop calling me Sempai."

"That's what you were thinking?"

"No, but all the same you should stop it."

"why?"

_He's so troublesome..._"I just don't want you to. You shouldn't anyway... what would everyone else think? We're closer than 'Sempai', don't you think?"

"I suppose you're right."

They sat in silence for a while, neither really knowing what to say as they ate their way through the dinner. For some reason with the teasing and fighting just didn't happen the way it usually would, they were both left in an awkward hush.

Trying to break the quietness, Tenten sighed, "Not that it's going to matter what everyone else thinks. I'm pretty much banned from society now."

"I'm sure you aren't." He grinned to himself, obviously expecting her to have said something like that. "You're already invited to the official Jounin Matsuri celebration in a few days right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I should go. I don't want to intrude and start an argument. After all, no one would miss me."

He looked up, trapping her eyes. "I would... You should go, even if it's just to show Ino that she doesn't intimidate you."

"But she does intimidate me."

"Go. Come with me. Just have some fun. You deserve it."

She couldn't stop her smile from creeping out, "Thank you. Oh, and thank you for the dinner too."

"You made breakfast."

"So I did." She smiled wider.

Surprisingly, he just laughed and it was soon infectious as they fell back together against the sofa. His arm unconsciously falling behind her shoulder, she found her head leaning into his shoulder again. _His shoulder is far too comfy..._ she mused absent-mindedly.

As they calmed down, the feel of the other's rising chest echoed its way into their thoughts and their proximity became obvious. A shiver passed through Tenten as she felt his gaze on her and felt drawn to meet his eyes. The air thickened, much like it had done earlier (not that she'd admit it), as their body heat mixed and radiated from them both.

She gripped the edge of the sofa for grounding, feeling herself rise up towards him. Her eyes shut as her heart beat increased erratically, before warmth rushed over her mouth that sunk to her core. Her breath was caught up. Her brain shut down.

Seconds later her eyes fluttered and the thought registered that he was closer; he was touching her... he was kissing her. The latter, she wasn't as sure of, _maybe I kissed him...?_

Before another thought could register, instinct kicked in and she wound her healthy arm up to grip him closer, wrapping around his comfortable shoulders helplessly. She couldn't stop, and neither apparently could he. His arm brushed against the small of her back, shifting her further towards him until she was hooked over one leg.

Just as she found herself wishing that he wouldn't stop, so they'd never have to accept what was happening or that anything would have to change, his fingers hooked around the hem of her top. They both pulled away from each other's mouths with a gasp for air, but no more than that, as an instant of intense eye-contact soon answered all questions and they fell back onto each other. The look he had given her scorched every inch of her skin, generating heat that spread like wildfire until every piece of her conscious mind was overcome entirely. She was consumed; body and mind, and nothing could stop them now.

His hand inched up, dragging fabric along with it to graze across her skin; tracing a line around her hip, her stomach, and higher...

**AN: Told you things were heating up... couldn't help the extended metaphor there. So I think that the next chapter is going to be a long one; basically because I have to deal with the aftermath of both couples, and it just wouldn't do to take a break from one and not the other.**

**I know some of you will kill me for not going onto the full citrus, but it's just not how I write. Let me know what you think though, and seriously, if you want to ask a question, do it! I always reply to every review, and for the next week I am going out of my mind preparing to move out, so you are very welcome.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	16. Itch

**AN: I cut this down a little, to make you guys feel like you were getting a little more KakaSaku for your internet connection, so it's shorter than I intended. Getting stressful here at LadyLoss HQ with me moving out in 2 days, so don't expect my best.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Sixteen: Itch**

Luckily for her, Kakashi had been held up in meetings and visits all day, but that didn't stop her from driving herself mad, thinking about no end of things. Nothing was the same anymore, whether she'd tried to deny it or not. Things may have started as a bit of light hearted teasing to help her get though the pain of her Shishou's abandonment, but it was soon progressing too far.

The point it had got to now, without her even noticing for sure when it had happened, was likely to be something neither of them could step back from. She wasn't sure anymore if she could even act like nothing had happened, whether she could keep up any semblance of a professional attitude to prevent people getting suspicious.

Of course, the underlying issue still lay in the simple dread of going home and being around him. She kept reminding herself that last night was one of the best nights of sleep she'd had since moving out of her parents'. The living situation was wonderfully perfect, except for the small snag of their supremely dysfunctional relationship.

Kakashi's commitment to her went beyond the council's persuasion. That much was shockingly obvious after so long of not realising a thing. She'd spent all day attempting to logically think through his behaviour, and factoring in everything that had been said in the last few weeks, he didn't need to confess anything. There was no other explanation in her eyes; otherwise he would never have shown her his face.

There was the real problem... his face. She couldn't even recall once seeing his face, despite the fact she'd apparently been looking at it all evening, but something in her seemed to be itching to see it again. It was like something inside her was scratching at the surface, striking her whenever her mind had nothing else to wander to, which thanks to the Koyo Matsuri was practically all day.

This terrified her, especially as a pertinent (although deliberately ignored) part of this itch, seemed to be instinctively intrigued about how it would feel to kiss him without a barrier. It almost alarmed her to think that she could be his first direct kiss, while simultaneously thrilling her for that same exact reason.

The very thought of sharing moments like they had in town, and on the balcony, with the newfound ability to create friction skin to skin, sent her into a whirlwind of thoughts that sunk too deep to be acknowledged without danger to her mental state. With his reputed experience she had no doubt that the things he could do to her with that mouth, could probably ruin her for all future men, but the part of her that sent very graphic fantasies into her un-conscious mind didn't seem to care.

Sensibly, it could never happen. He would only take the mask off at home, and they only have reason to kiss around other people. Even if she could go as far as to convince him to let other people into his home, he would undoubtedly keep the mask on around them.

Before she knew it, she had her hands screwed up in her hair, cursing herself for thinking about such things. _This is part of your job Sakura,_ She reminded herself forcefully, _it's not fair to use him as kissing practice._

Her head soon hit the desk, just as the stressful day finally caught up on her. No matter how well she had slept the night before, after a full day of worrying herself about pointless things, her body soon became as tired as her mind.

_She cracked open an eye, surprised to find that she wasn't nearly as alone as she had thought. He'd been watching her from just outside, perching on the balcony as he so often used to when he'd turn up late for their team meetings, a glaringly orange book ever present in his hand._

_This time though, the book was closed, his eyes finding the sight in front of him more alluring than any over-exaggerated drawing could be. Never letting his gaze leave her stunned eyes for an instant, he calmly walked across the room towards her. _

_She felt the air shift around her from an artistically arranged combination of the open window and his impending presence, lifting the paper under her fingers until it drifted out of her reach. Even the air seemed determined that she should be devoting her entire attention to the man now stood behind her._

_He leant toned arms either side of her to rest on the desk, trapping her in her seat and his body heat. Instinctively she fell back against his chest, the low back of her chair allowing her upper back to feel the full support of his body._

_She wanted to turn to face him, hoping that she could gain some insight from his expression, but something told her that whatever confusion she felt would soon be washed away. As she felt his breath on her exposed neck she privately cursed herself for wearing her hair in that ever-practical ponytail._

_He affected her too easily, which was probably his attention. He loved to tease, just as much as she did, which was then made alarmingly obvious with his next move._

_She felt his bare, soft lips ghosted across the skin of her neck, forcing her to retract her previous curses. A breath she'd been holding slipped out in a soft sigh that was loud enough to shock both of them._

_He laughed a low chuckle that sent more ripples through her. "I didn't realise you were so sensitive..."_

_Before she could reply, her fingers gripped hard onto his arms as his mouth sank onto the edge of her jaw; sucking and biting and kissing all at the same time, his cheek flush against hers as he took away all her thoughts. She'd never felt this way, but could happily sink into oblivion right now as she threw her head back against his shoulder._

The second the rush went through her mind, she shocked herself awake. _Kami I have to get a hold on myself... what is wrong with me?_

Dreams like that were confusing on so many levels she couldn't figure out what she was thinking and feeling anymore. She promised herself mentally that the next time she saw him, she'd put all else out of her mind and just try to keep her head.

She was increasingly confused to discover that by the time she opened her eyes the room was flooded with bright daylight. She'd slept through until morning, and Kakashi was already sat at his desk.

"You owe me curry." He grumbled as he noticed that she was awake.

"You didn't come back here yesterday?" She wondered, having assumed he would have woken her up if he had.

"Things overran, so I just headed home, thinking you'd be there. Did you go home at all last night?"

She blushed slightly, embarrassed at being caught out. "Um... no."

"You didn't forget the way there did you?" He smirked, watching her every move as she brushed her hair out with her fingers.

"Of course I didn't forget. I just shut my eyes for a second and... I guess I was tired."

"Join the club." He grunted, rubbing at his eye.

She paused and finally noticed the bags under his eyes. "You didn't stay up all night waiting for me, did you?"

"Don't be ridiculous." He scowled, "I've not slept well for a few days."

"Oh..." she suddenly felt very guilty for having slept so well the other night. _He must have been lying there awake while I slept like a log... that's just horrible._

"Don't do it again." He continued to scold her, inexplicably angry. "There can't be any use in overworking yourself every day, even if I'm too caught up to deal with paperwork on my own. Are you a misogynist?"

"No, I..."

"Next time, just come home."

She was beginning to get irritated. "I didn't realise it mattered to you what I do. For all you knew I could have been with friends at a Momijigari all night last night, so you have no right whatsoever to come in here this morning and criticize my working habits."

"Is that what this is about? You're pissed off at me for not wanting to go to the festival with you?"

"No. You might notice that I'm not revolving entirely around you. I'm actually thrilled to spend some time with my friends for once, without having you hanging all over me."

That cut a little too deep, she realised as he turned his chair to face away from her. Her ineptitude at keeping emotions at bay sometimes interfered in the stupidest of things, and the convoluted thoughts that had been running through her head had just made things worse.

She'd been so focused on figuring out what she was feeling about the situation, that she'd completely disregarded him. After all, he'd been the one to start everything, and he'd revealed things about himself that must have been torture to decide.

She let out a heavy sigh, so different from that in her dreams, to help her calm down enough to stand from her desk to speak to him, "I'm sorry Kakashi. I didn't mean to snap... I guess I'm a little hormonal at the moment. If you know what's good for you, you had probably better leave a little distance for a few days."

He rubbed at his forehead, a sign that he really was too tired to deal with work today. "Sakura, I can handle your short temper. I've been dealing with it for years."

Running an eye over his dishevelled form, she muttered under her breath, "It's not my temper I'm worried about."

* * *

They both woke at the same time, air rushing through their lungs as the course of the previous night's events hit them. Shikamaru had no time to contemplate the leg wrapped around his waist, or the largest amount of bare skin he'd ever had contact with.

The crank in his back from sleeping on the sofa for so many days was made infinitely worse by having her lying on top of him, cushions thrown all over the room amongst their shed clothes. Part of him regretted that he couldn't figure out what had gone on before she'd woken up, but a larger part of him was glad he didn't have to lie there any longer than necessary.

He looked up to lock eyes with hers, her gaze surprisingly calm for the situation they were in. Their bodies were just as entwined as they had been when they had fallen asleep in exhaustion, but her embarrassment was well hidden if it was there at all.

There was nothing in her expression that gave anything away, like she was trying to figure him out the same way he was. Neither of them had been in a position like this with anyone, so unsure of what to say or do, they slowly pulled apart and sat rigidly beside each other.

What was he supposed to do? Should he kiss her on the cheek as he had on impulse the night before, or should he shrug it off like nothing had happened? It had felt right at the time, but now he had no idea what any of it meant.

It can't have been a one night stand, not when they were already living with each other and (even if only in the public's eye) had been dating for over a week. So were they friends with benefits... or was this a onetime thing? Everything in his head was muffled as it over thought everything with his hyperactive brain capacity. _Troublesome..._

The fact that they were both completely naked didn't even occur to them as they sat, mortified at their own actions.

"Nothing happened." Tenten stated flatly.

"It didn't mean a thing." Shikamaru lied, privately cursing himself for having to say it.

"I was just upset." She agreed.

_You're just too good a kisser, _he sighed mentally, pulling on some pants from beneath a fallen cushion before walking off into the kitchen to leave her some privacy. "I'll make breakfast."

Seconds later he heard the bathroom door click shut and water running. Almost immediately he banged his head into the kitchen wall, trying to knock some sense into himself. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

He had no idea what had come over him last night, from the moment he asked her to dance till he woke up this morning, but he obviously had a complete personality transplant. Though it may have been instigated by that highly uncomfortable incident yesterday morning, he enjoyed it all a little too much, and now she was all over his mind.

Last night, Tenten revealed herself to be a little more than just a formidable kunoichi; she became a formidable _woman_, and just a little more than fascinating to him.

* * *

As the shower ran behind her, Tenten looked at herself in the mirror as it started to mist up, and began to remove her bandages. She automatically flinched, naturally assuming that the stitches would be torn and that the pain would have been aggravated by last night's activities. To her surprise, and gladness, there was no pain. The painkillers she'd been taken covered the initial pain, and she didn't feel like she needed any more.

Apparently, despite all the passion, he'd been gentle and careful of her injuries. He'd left no sign, which of course she was thankful for; that way they could move on as if it never happened. _I've gone completely out of my mind..._ She traced her injuries absently. _I guess that's what it really feels like when you let yourself go insane._

She couldn't let that happen, not ever again, and no one was going to find out about what went on. Nevertheless, somewhere in the back of her mind she found herself wishing he had left a mark; something she could use to prove to Ino that he was hers, and she was his. What once was annoyance was fast becoming hatred and she'd look for any chance to get one up on the irritating blonde.

Most worryingly, she had not even cared about Ino's reactions until last night, but she suddenly couldn't bear to listen to anyone insult Shikamaru. She was getting too close to him, and too reliant on his affections (limited as they were), as last night showed to an overwhelming amount.

Last night he had burned her, he had branded her with his touch, but yet the only scars she saw as she glided curious fingers over her naked skin were from hard work and training. A sudden longing rushed through her that defied reason and logic, wishing for battle scars of emotion so that she could feel human for once.

What was worse was that everything felt completely and utterly normal. When she had woken up to find herself looking down at him, the only thing that had gone through her mind was '_I should stop him from sleeping on that sofa; it'll only hurt his back'._

The only thing that had awakened her to the fact she probably should be embarrassed at spending the night with someone she barely knew in such a compromising way was when his eyes had unconsciously averted hers for a second. If he hadn't, they probably would have stayed like that for much longer, and she dreaded to think what might have come of it.

Her memories of the exact events of last night were clouded at best, but the feelings were ingrained in her, on constant cyclic replay. The complete lack of control terrified her to her core, and cursing herself for her stupidity she soon came to an acceptable conclusion.

_It must have been the medication... It's making me lose power over myself. If I can't handle that, then I can't handle the meds, so I'll just have to deal with pain the old-fashioned way._

Shaking off her troubled thoughts, she stepped over to let the cool water of the shower fall over her, washing away any stray feelings.

**AN: So, I think I know what's coming next, but it's going to take a lot of work to give it enough flesh for you to sink your teeth into, so bare with me. My beta is now at least 7 chapters behind and counting so I'm completely flying free from guidance and double-checks.**

**Let me know what you think, and what you want more of.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	17. The Night

**AN: Hey people, can you feel the plot kicking in?**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Seventeen: The Night**

Tenten had her compulsive habits. One of which included doing absolutely nothing until she'd showered once she'd set her mind to doing it (and quite enjoyed finishing chores she'd left half done afterwards); so naturally when she left the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and prepared to tidy up, to find both of their clothes neatly folded on the arm of the sofa, it stopped her in her path.

As she heard Shikamaru stirring about, she thought for a second about asking him out of the kitchen to help her with her bandages, but thought better of it in favour of pulling some clothes on first. It would probably just be awkward if she would ask him to do such a thing while she was barely dressed, despite the fact she'd never had any issue with it before.

Another compulsion of hers started around the time she was a Genin, when on mission with her team. Due to an unfortunate and irritating issue when training around water, she'd ended up borrowing some of Neji's clothes, which she never had given back.

She'd discovered a preference for guy's clothing, finding it overall more practical and looser fitting than most female clothes, but it wasn't right to buy them for herself (her tomboy reputation was already bad enough). Since then, she'd been stealing guy's clothing whenever she had the opportunity and here was another, with the folded pile right in front of her.

Without a second thought, she picked up his t-shirt and shoved it on, thanking him quietly for wear a proper top for once, instead of one made of fishnet. He was a slimmer build than Neji, and taller, so the t-shirt fit so much better than the stupid clothes she used to steal from Neji.

_This is going to become a bad habit..._ she sighed heavily as she grabbed the rest of her clothes with her healthy arm and disappeared back into her bedroom to change. It didn't take her long, as nearly all of her clothes were designed for training, which meant everything was stretchy and simple.

The entire time they sat having yet another silent and slightly awkward meal, he didn't seem to look at her once for long enough to notice that she was wearing the t-shirt that he'd been looking for just minutes ago. It was a perplexing situation, figuring out how to deal with something that they had agreed hadn't happened, and for once she was wishing they could just have another argument.

Without even glancing at her, Shikamaru managed to pick up on her frustrated expressions, "You'll need bandaging up again, won't you?"

She decided not to call him up on his stoic tone. "Yes, I suppose so. You don't mind, do you?"

"No... It's why I'm here after all."

"Alright then... I think my appetite has gone to pot today, so... whenever you're ready." She went to put her still half-full plate out into the kitchen before returning to sit down, placing the bandages behind her.

Facing away from him, she didn't see him put his plate down, or shuffle closer behind her. She didn't see him take a sweeping glance of her lower back as she pulled his shirt up above her injured ribs, and she didn't see his hand until it ghosted over her skin.

His hand stroked slowly and torturously across her torso, inspecting her injuries and judging her reactions for pain. She bit into her lip to hold back from gasping, both at the aching sensations in her ribs and at the tormenting reminder of the ways he had touched her last night.

_Get a hold of yourself_, she scolded mentally, _it was a stupid mistake, just don't let it get awkward._

The second his hand left her skin to reach for the bandages, she closed her eyes in thanks, though careful to mask her sigh of relief. Things had gone too far, and anymore of this madness could probably send her over the edge. As far as she was concerned, the sooner she could get back on active duty the better.

"How are you're injuries feeling?" He asked her carefully as he wound the thin fabric carefully around her wound, his voice tight.

She answered the unasked question, even if he was trying hard not to bring it up. "They're fine, no more aggravating than they were. If anything they feel a little better."

"I suspect your arm is nearly healed now." He nodded.

"Yeah. It still doesn't feel like it should, but I could probably cope without the sling now."

"A little exercise won't do it any harm."

She felt herself blush and cursed under her breath, failing to keep the filth in her mind contained. _Stupid girl... no wonder you ended up sleeping with him..._

"Sempai, did I hurt you?" Shikamaru let go of the bandages in concern.

She turned her head back over her shoulder, daring him to look her in the eye. "What did you just call me?"

"Uh... Ten-pai, yeah Tenpai." He lied, not nearly as smoothly as he'd intended.

She started to laugh, unable to stop herself, so much like he had last night. "That's so cute."

"Cute?" He mock-scowled, but was too busy laughing along with her to pull it off effectively.

"Yeah, it's such a ridiculous nickname."

"I think it fits perfectly."

"Then it's probably the best I'm likely to get."

"Hai Tenpai." He smirked.

A knock at the door interrupted them, though Tenten still couldn't stop herself from giggling. Shikamaru quickly finished off the bandage and tapped her on the shoulder to let her know she could go and answer it. Last time he answered, it resulted in Tenten getting very pissed off, so he wasn't about to make that mistake again (for the recipient on the other side of the door more than for him).

She answered the door still in a fit of giggles as she pulled his t-shirt down to cover her bare skin. "Ah..."

All mirth rushed out of her almost immediately as the reply came in curt tones. "I apologise for my interruption, I will leave."

"Neji!" she called out, swinging the door open wider, which allowed Neji a line of sight to where Shikamaru was sat, bandages in hand.

He glared briefly at the younger man, who was still attempting to bite back his smile. "I will speak to you later, should we get the chance. I believe you are likely to be attending tomorrow night."

"Um, actually, I'm not sure..."

"Tenpai..." Shikamaru scolded her, "you're going. You want to go, and I want you to be there, we discussed this."

She continued to address only Neji. "I guess probably then, why? What is it?"

"It is nothing too important. It can be discussed at a more opportune time."

Her hands found her hips, "So you came all the way here, just to tell me that you want to talk to me? Doesn't that strike you as a little insane Neji?"

"Exercise will help to increase my concentration. It is not time wasted." He wouldn't remove his glare from behind her, seemingly finding threat from elsewhere more deserving of his attention. "Do not allow me to postpone your... activities."

"What acti-" She was about to protest before she felt Shikamaru's mouth on her neck. She'd been so busy arguing with Neji that she hadn't even notice him approaching her from behind.

His arm wound around her lower stomach to hold her against him, momentarily making her forget what she was doing. It wasn't much, but it was enough to instigate a highly embarrassing display of emotion.

"Ah..." she gasped out in unanticipated pleasure.

The second the sound left her mouth, her eyes snapped back to Neji in horror, only to find him gone from her doorway. Obviously Shikamaru's technique to get him to shut up and go away worked perfectly.

A master of irritation, he stepped away from her and went back to the sofa as if nothing had happened. "So where were we?"

"You...!" She fumed.

"Hai Tenpai?" He smirked cutely, challenging her to rise to the bait.

She smiled helplessly. "Never mind, just bandage my arm and we can head out somewhere if you like."

"What, you mean like a date?" He grinned moronically, attempting (and succeeding) to aggravate her.

"No, I mean like a walk."

He slipped a finger a little too slowly along her injured arm. "Only if we can hold hands all the way."

"Stop being ridiculous." She yanked her arm away, ignoring the pain it caused.

"I'm not. I'd rather..." Pausing for a second, confusion was deep across his features as he tried to sort his thoughts out. "No, it doesn't matter."

"You're being odd today."

"Well that _does_ make a change." He half laughed, with a bitter laugh that sounded troubled to her.

"Seriously though..."

He interrupted her quickly, wanting the conversation to be anything but serious. "I'll buy you something."

"Excuse me... you'll _buy_ me something? I need to be bought now?"

"No, I just thought... jewellery or something... for the party. I thought you might... I'm sorry."

"I'm not Ino." She snapped defensively.

"Believe me, I know..."

* * *

She'd lost track of time, for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Since she'd woken to find his scolding presence looming over her in the office, she'd been constantly distracted and had spent a very long time staring into empty space for large periods of the day. That didn't mean she hadn't been doing her job; despite everything she was still managing to hold up her professional capabilities, though how she did it was a marvel even to herself.

Kakashi had walked alongside her on the journey from the office, much like he had when she had first been introduced to his... _their_ home, almost as if he feared her walking off somewhere, which left her no room to escape. She wasn't exactly desperate to be away from him for any particular reason, other than perhaps avoiding the bizarre impulses she put down to hormones, but she had no chance of enjoying the festival while he was acting so possessively.

_Was that it? _She wondered, staring into the shadows of the room, _did he worry that I was going to leave him?_

She was beginning to realise that perhaps her old mentor was a great deal more insecure than he made himself out to be. Every question and statement about their relationship recently had become a sensitive matter, no longer anything of business and with no mention of the council's input whatsoever. Whatever it was that had caused it, to him at least this was now personal.

Increasingly, it was taking over her entire life, with every spare minute dedicated to thoughts of him; not even of his face or of those kisses... but of his feelings, his needs, his worries. She couldn't leave the office and laugh anymore, because when she did he would be there waiting to walk home or to take her for lunch. She couldn't go home and cook or read to keep her mind off him, because when she did he would be there to eat her food or to lie down beside her, like he was at that moment.

The only light in the room was moonlight, escaping through the fabric of the lightweight curtains hung over the window, though having sat awake for what she could only assume to be hours now, Sakura had no trouble picking out the features of the bedroom. She glanced at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, visible through the open door, and pondered her appearance.

Every day since Kakashi had asked that initial dread question, she still struggled to figure out what it was that had made him ask her. Even if his only real reason was the convenience of this situation (for him at least), she was convinced that he wouldn't have even thought to ask should there not have been something about her he'd seen, but what was there to see? No one else ever saw anything of interest, so why was he different?

"Saku..." Kakashi muttered from behind her.

"What?" Sakura snapped out of her daze, alarmed in case there was trouble, "What is it?"

Spinning around to face him, she soon realised he was still asleep, and sighed. She let herself relax as she moved to sit closer beside him, her eyes unwittingly falling onto his exposed face. The distraction allowed what she had tried so hard to avoid, having deliberately kept her eyes reverted after he removed the mask on returning home.

She had been afraid of her own reaction, and of the resulting loss of control that would instigate, but now there was no one to criticise her, and she would be spared of his reaction. After days of Insomnia, Kakashi seemed to have finally found his rest, his breathing shallow and even, so she felt completely comfortable in leaning a little closer.

This close to the unexplored boundaries of his naked face, temptations bubbled up to the surface and she abandoned the need to maintain her formality. Reaching out inch by inch on the off chance that disturbing the air around him would somehow wake him, she slipped a hand across the edge of his jaw, relishing the sensation of his smooth skin against her fingertips. He'd shaved, for her.

Slowly, she ran her ring finger against each feature of his exposed face, carefully memorising everything as she came to it, so that she might come to know every scar, every dip and every mark hidden from familiarity. Without doubt, the way he looked to her was nothing like she'd imagined, but perhaps more surprisingly was exactly how she'd seen him all along.

The notion barely made sense, but he just seemed to look like Kakashi; it was as if she had seen him without the mask the whole time she'd known him and what had always been hidden was as much a part of him as the renowned scar across his eye. She'd expected that it would be strange to finally see the lower half of his features, but it wasn't at all and it would take no getting used to at all. Considering this, she realised now that this was the reason she'd not noticed that he'd had his mask off until this morning.

Almost forgetting that her curiosity was still tracing her way down his face, when she came to rest a finger on his lips, she let it linger for too long, mind temporarily blank.

Startled by the contact, he bolted upright, only to realise that she had been leaning over him. "What were you...?"

"Sorry" she flushed unwittingly, trying to balance from the force of being pushed backwards, "you just muttered my name in your sleep, that's all, but I didn't realise... I thought you'd called me so..."

"I said that out loud...?" He barely blushed, but with his face so close to hers it was impossible to hide it.

That was enough for her. He was inches away, an admission that he was dreaming about her on his lips and in the colour of his cheeks. She followed his eye line down to find her hand still braced against his shoulder. All her thoughts and temptations from the previous night came rushing back to her.

Before her conscious thoughts could even start to catch up she found herself brushing her fingers back up towards his jaw, her breath stopped completely. His curious eyes met hers in a gently blurred expression of confusion, just before her body gave into the craving. She kissed him.

Pulling back, she felt herself go bright red and averted her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just wondered how that would feel."

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he reached a finger to his own lips in surprise, caught up in his own thoughts that drove her to agony as she waited for his response. When it finally came, it was anything but what she had expected.

Decision looming in his eyes, he snaked an arm around her waist; he seized the opportunity and pulled her to him in a deeper, open mouthed kiss. It seemed to her that all of the restrained emotion he had been storing up was almost impossible to keep inside of him, now that he had no mask to hide behind, and the sheer intensity blew her mind.

She'd worried that he would be mad at her for stepping over boundaries he wasn't prepared to bring down, but now... every emotional embrace they'd shared up until this point paled against this moment. If she'd have known that a brief curious kiss would result in this, she had no idea what she would have done.

Her hormones and his urges combined with the incredible force they felt between them meant it took a while before they could pull away from each other, and neither had any notion of time passing. This wasn't lust though, they both knew it; as much as passion was taking hold of them, it wasn't going any further.

As they finally pulled apart for air, Sakura was more confused than she had ever been. She just sat there, arms limp at her side, and panted in heavy breaths as her brain sought desperately to catch up with her erratically beating heart.

She couldn't find any words as she stared at him with wide eyes, astounded by the sheer power of his emotions. She'd only thought it was a crush, or at worst sexual impulses. Even more shock struck here at the awe shining on his moonlight lit face as he gazed back at her, smiling like she was something he'd never seen.

"No one has ever kissed me like that before." He breathed heavily, even the cardiovascular capabilities of a top-level shinobi unable to cope with the demand of his body.

Sakura half managed a nod, before squeaking out a few uncertain words, "I- I can't... think."

Without daring to look back at him, she stumbled from the bed towards the small bathroom, shutting the door behind her in an attempt to find her own air to breathe. As she slid to the floor, she barely hid a smile before he decided to call out to her.

"Sakura..."

"Eh?" she squeaked, caught off guard, and desperately hoped it didn't travel through to the other side of the door.

"Don't forget that we have to work." He pointed out, with an annoyingly nonchalant tone.

"O-Oh, right." She let her eyes wander to the clock on the wall, assuring herself that it was still in the middle of the night, and that he was indeed making fun of her.

Before she had a chance to get angry, she heard him whisper through the door, obviously having lowered to her level, "Thank you Sakura. You are amazing."

_This was a stupid idea,_ Sakura fretted as all her blood rushed to her face and a smile spread that threatened not to leave.

**AN: Hey guys, guess what... broken wrist is now healed and I managed to finally wrench my files from the cold dead hands of my possessed external hard drive. So yeah... a massive apology to everyone who has been waiting patiently for this chapter for so long, I can only hope this chapter was worth it.**

**Let me know what you thought.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	18. The Truth pt1

**AN: I'm so sorry guys... I don't know where my head has been for the last few months. Well I do, it's been getting kicked about from doctor to doctor and getting its shiny self thoroughly screwed around. I have really lost my patience for Naruto fanfiction at the moment, so I'm trying to get this out of my hair a little. It's not my best.**

**Originally this whole chapter was not a part of this story, but I felt that things were moving too fast without it and after the last chapter it was kind of necessary to address the aftermath rather than just diving back into the climax of the ShikaTen relationship. So here's a little KakaSaku for you, and a little insight into upcoming drama.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Eighteen: The Truth part one**

There was a distinct chill in the air that morning which was beginning to increase in pressure. Sakura almost wished she was back in the tower where it was warm, but despite the reminder the Koyo Matsuri served to be of the change in season, her heart was overruling her head.

More specifically, her heart was running scared of what being in _his_ company would do next. After last night, she just couldn't think straight about anything, and she felt compelled to avoid her silver-haired walking complication as long as she could manage. She was lucky that there was a good deal of relevant business to be taken care of around the village that day, as she quietly dreaded what even a word from him could do to her fragile mental state.

All morning she had been running (or strolling slowly) around dealing with village business, and was now on her way back from Takumi-san's office with the overdue plans for the Hokage monument. She had stopped through the markets while she was in the area to stock up the Hatake residences appallingly under stocked kitchen; There was no harm in sorting out domestics while getting important business done, and it was yet another excuse to avoid the office.

Her thoughts kept flicking back to what he had said, in that low voice of his, and had to remind herself constantly that he was just a habitual tease. _It was nothing_, she insisted to herself, _of course if you are mad enough to kiss a pervert who hasn't gotten laid in weeks he is going to get carried away..._

Puzzling the issue to herself, she almost dropped the plans she had been holding against her chest when a sudden yell snapped her back to reality.

"Forehead!"

She turned cautiously to see both of her life's prominent blondes walking towards her from a nearby cafe, waving to catch her attention. Just the simple fact that they were together was ominous, even without the worrying grins they were sporting.

She was about to try and make some excuse to leave, but quickly reminded herself that she was looking for some kind of distraction and there simply was no better waste of time than to let Ino talk to her, Sakura decided against her better judgement to wait for them to catch up.

"What is into you?" Ino laughed as she began to walk with Sakura in the direction she was originally heading. "I called you like 3 times before you turned around."

"You did? Sorry, I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"Tell me about it... you've missed every party this season."

"Yeah, we miss you Sakura." Naruto pouted as he slung an arm around her shoulders. "You never come out anymore."

"I guess this job is a little more work than I bargained for." Sakura sighed.

"More like the Hokage is..." Ino smirked

"What's that you've got Sakura?" Naruto peered at the sketches she was holding. "Been drawing Kakashi-sensei?"

"What?" She frowned. "No, they're the plans for the mountain. As if I would..."

Ino tutted at her disapprovingly. "So you are working? I knew you couldn't actually be out in public by choice."

"I could be... but no, I am working. I'm just going to drop these off at home then I have to go back to the office."

"You are coming to the Jounin Momijigari tonight though right? It's tradition, and everyone comes to this one... even our esteemed Hokage can't deny you that."

"I wouldn't let him stop me anyway. He makes enough decisions on my behalf already and I'm starting to get bored of it."

"Are you two fighting?" Naruto worried, "Is it something to do with Sasuke again?"

She gave him a tired smile, not giving enough room for Ino to start prying on the matter. "Kakashi and I never fought about Sasuke... not seriously anyway. For the record, we aren't fighting now either."

"But you wish you were right?" Ino interjected.

"Why would I wish that?"

"Well, you know, couples tend to get stronger after they fight. Sharing feelings and letting out frustrations is healthy."

"How bizarrely insightful of you..."

"Not to mention the make up sex."

"Ino!" Naruto protested, his spare hand clapped over his ear.

"I knew there was something like that." Sakura glared at her friend for being so filthy minded. "I'm not going to start a fight with Kakashi so that we'll have sex."

"Wow, you are really mad at him aren't you?"

"Where are you getting that from?"

"You keep calling him Kakashi" Naruto pointed out, scrunching his face up. "Not Kaka-kun."

"Oh..."

"And you haven't had sex yet...?" Ino frowned. "Do you realise who it is you are dating?"

"No! I mean, yeah I know... I just think that maybe what we have is more serious than that." She hated lying to her friends like this, but Ino was a compulsive gossiper and the truth... well she couldn't even decide that for herself.

As much as she desperately wanted to tell them how she really felt, and that whatever advice they give is redundant because the relationship isn't even real, she just couldn't do that. She really needed to talk to someone who would understand, so that maybe she could figure it out.

"Oh forehead you are so hopeless. Don't tell me you think you're in love again?"

"Eh?" She felt herself go red at Ino's speculation.

"'Something more serious'? Who are you kidding?"

"Says the girl who thinks _Shikamaru_ is in love with her..." Naruto teased with a cocky grin that for once Sakura was glad of.

"He is!" Ino protested with an indignant squeak.

"He's dating Tenten."

"He's just trying to make me jealous."

"Not according to Neji."

She stopped the whole group, pulling Naruto away from Sakura by the scruff of his neck. "Why, what have you heard?"

"He went to check on Tenten the other day and Shikamaru was there."

"And...?"

"In her house... first thing in the morning..."

"Surely you aren't that dense Ino?" Sakura smiled, enjoying the temporary change of subject. "He's living with her."

"He's what?" Both blondes stared at her, mouths hanging open.

"Kakashi mentioned it the other night. He's been staying at her flat for a few weeks now."

Sakura immediately recognised her mistake. On impulse she quickly began to formulate an excuse before realising that her gut response would likely blow the cover on the ridiculous role-play that was her 'relationship'. She started cursing Kakashi under her breath for what felt like the nth time that day.

"The other night?" Ino repeated, Shikamaru long forgotten as the gossip hunter within her narrowed down its target. "Does this have anything to do with the fact that every time I've gone to your home in the last week there's been no answer?"

"Yeah, I was wondering that..." Naruto added. "Sai and I went round after we left the rooftop party the other night to see if you were ok. You usually love the Koyo Matsuri but you weren't home either."

She started walking again, fearing that she'd end up backed against a wall soon. "I um... I don't live there anymore."

Ino nodded as they followed her. "That would explain why you are walking the wrong way to drop that stuff off home."

"Why didn't you say?" Naruto sulked. "We would have thrown you a house warming party at your new place."

"I don't think Kakashi would have liked that." Sakura fiddled nervously with the paper in her hand, very reluctant to reveal the truth.

"Oh come on... he can't stop you having fun in your own time."

"That's really not the point."

"Well we're damn well coming to see where you live now." Ino told her, beginning to suspect what Sakura was hiding. "What if someone needs to haul your drunk ass home tonight?"

"Urgh..." was about the most intelligible answer she could come up with as she closed her eyes tiredly.

"What's the matter?" Naruto worried.

"Fine, you can come... but you aren't allowed to judge me. I'm not supposed to really tell anyone." She considered making them promise to keep it to themselves, but what good would that do in showing the council of elders that Kakashi was doing his bit. At best it would afford them some privacy, but that really wasn't top of Kakashi's concerns.

Naruto bounced up at the notion. "We can really go see your new flat? Awesome!"

Glancing at the plans she was holding, she momentarily considered telling the pair she had to go to the office first, knowing that that would stop them both in their paths; They were both wary of the Hokage's office after their last visits. With a heavy sigh, she discounted that plan and continued to lead her two best friends to the shock of their lives.

"It's not exactly a flat Naruto, but yeah."

"Not a flat?" Ino quizzed as they walked. "I thought you earned even less now that you are in admin. You aren't in a slum or something, are you? I do have a sofa if you are struggling?"

"I'm not in a slum Ino. My living costs are easily manageable on an assistant's pay."

"Really?" She added doubtfully, "You aren't writing your own checks are you? Because that's really bad form."

"I'm offended that you'd even suggest that."

"I suppose though that you don't have much of a social life to be wasting money on."

"I do have a social life."

"Has he even taken you out on a date this week?"

"No... but we're kind of not going out at the moment. With the weather getting colder it just makes more sense to stay in."

"Cuddling by the fire in your matching jumpers?" Ino laughed, "How much time do you actually spend imagining this relationship of yours?"

"You know what Ino? Tease all you like. It's not going to make a difference."

"Sakura?" Naruto spoke up, looking around with a confused expression.

"Yes Naruto?"

"Are you sure we're going the right way? I didn't know anyone our age lived here..."

She remembered having the same thought when she'd first moved here. This part of Konoha was much more sparsely populated, with the residences slowly getting smaller and further apart, and not a single high rise in sight. It was a really nice neighbourhood, and quiet, unlike the flats she was used to living in since moving away from her parents three years ago.

"Yeah, it's just at the end of the next road." She smiled.

"Sakura, this place is more prestigious than where my parents live." Ino stared suspiciously. "I've delivered flowers out here before... it's minor clan territory."

Sakura couldn't even be bothered to answer the other girl's disbelief. "So Naruto, got any plans for the holiday tomorrow?"

"Nah... Probably just going to sleep off my hangover from tonight."

This was likely to be what every Shinobi in Konoha would be doing. It was tradition that the Jounin Momijigari took place the evening before the one day national holiday that accompanied the Koyo Matsuri for this very reason. Everyone in the village would have a day off normal duties so they took the opportunity to make the most of it.

"You should really think about getting some training in. You haven't taken a mission in weeks, so I can guarantee you'll get called out the second the festival is over."

"But Sakura... all the mission this time of year are super dull!"

"Naruto... Konoha is shorthanded as it is."

"Understatement much?" Ino agreed. "Did you know the council have been pressuring all the clan heads into increasing numbers?"

"Seriously?" Sakura scowled, trying not to reveal her personal ties to the situation. "Those old bastards have some nerve..."

"I'm so glad my parents are awesome and told me not to worry about it. I'm assuming they have probably bothered the Hokage over it too but if you didn't know, then..."

"He hasn't said anything, but he's certainly stressed about something. Could be that I suppose..." She feigned ignorance.

"I'm sure that's heart wrenching for you."

"Why?"

"I mean, you are his partner now. It's up to you to put his mind at ease."

"I never really thought about it that way."

"I don't know, you seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it when I walked in on the two of you." Ino winked at her suggestively.

"He wasn't at ease. He knew you were there."

"Oh, I think he was..."

"This is it." Sakura interrupted, swallowing her nerves as they stopped still outside his home... _their_ home.

"Wha-...?" Naruto muttered in response. Ino however was speechless for once.

Sakura sighed and led them through the gate that led up to the main residence. The slightly overgrown garden lawn didn't do much to lessen the effect of the place, and neither did any of the other obvious signs of disrepair she'd come to get used to; It still took her breath away to think that she lived there.

"Are you squatting?" Ino asked once she found her voice.

"Oh for Kami's sake Ino, no! I live here properly and legally and before you ask there is nothing wrong with the place that a bit of care and attention won't fix." She balanced the plans and her bags with one hand as she got her keys out of her belt pouch to open the door and smirked as she noticed the wooden sign lying on the floor. "That stupid sign never stays put."

"I'll get it."Naruto volunteered and knelt down to pick it up. It didn't take long before he turned it over and immediately let it fall to the floor like it was on fire. "Sakura! What the hell?"

"Ok, fine, you can judge me." She opened the door to reveal to them the two pairs of slippers set out in the porch.

Ino didn't need to see the sign to understand what was going on. "Is this what you meant by being more serious?"

"Partially." Sakura shrugged as she kicked her shoes off to head inside.

She scowled as they followed her through the house to the kitchen, gaping the entire time. "This is his family home Sakura. You do realise that don't you?"

"Yes Ino, I'm not stupid."

Naruto's eyes widened at what he began to realise was something bigger than him and his problems, "Then this really is like... really serious."

Sakura smiled lightly, not looking up as she placed her bags down on the counter. "I wasn't lying."

As the words left her mouth and she felt the warmth of their home warn off the chill from outside, she began to realise that for the first time since she had met up with her friends that afternoon... she really wasn't.

**AN: Yes, I am aware that this is quite a short chapter but you see I wrote 5,000 words worth of chapter last night on a ramble so I thought it would make a little more sense to split this into two parts. I toyed with the idea of padding this out, or tagging on a short ShikaTen scene, but I didn't want to cheapen it anymore than my poor writing does.**

**So, big thanks to those who have held out for this. As I say, there is another 2000 waiting with this so there will be another new chapter within the next week!**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	19. The Truth pt2

**AN: It continues... bit of a long one but the last one was short so hopefully it evens out.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Nineteen: The Truth part two**

Kakashi had spent one night struggling with the concept of sleeping right next to her, and the next one finding no way of sleeping without her. He'd never slept with anyone outside of mission without _sleeping_ with them, so lying beside her, so close to the object of some of his most recent fantasies, had been close to killing him. He was so focused on trying to think of anything other than her so he wouldn't lose control, he couldn't get to sleep.

Last night, the renewal of her presence had the opposite effect. He'd missed her when she hadn't come back before, so when she returned with him to their home, he made up his mind not to worry about silly awkward things and just to enjoy her company.

It was funny, he supposed, after giving up on his own sanity that he could fully enjoy every second that he could watch the effect this disaster was having on Sakura. One day he would have to put an end to it, and give over that inevitable escape clause, but while it lasted he was quite happy to take as much advantage of it as she would let him.

Honestly, it barely crossed his mind that when this ended he would likely be alone and miserable without her around, since he knew that no matter how his feelings towards her had changed in the last few weeks, she was 14 years younger and less inclined to settle down than he was (if that were possible). She was a kunoichi... a career that members very rarely took time out of to stop for relationships, and even if she were an exception to the rule she certainly was not the type to fall for an old man.

To cut a long argument short, he had no chance, so why try? He had decided to look on the rest of the time he had with her as a holiday... a brief interlude before the monotony of normal life fell back into place.

But then this morning had happened... of all things, that was the very last thing he'd expected to happen when she'd said '_I can't say no'. _She had started it, which just made everything so much more complicated. No longer was it his problem... no longer even his relationship... and no longer was it an act. This was something real, between the two of them, which had nothing to do with the council or anyone else.

After agonising himself over how, or even if, he could tell her how he felt, the second she kissed him forced everything to fall into place. He'd felt vibrations he'd never felt before, and unsure whether it was the unfamiliar of that kiss or whether it was Sakura, he couldn't leave it alone in his mind. He needed her, and whether she needed him or not, while he had her he intended to show her in any way possible. It was dangerous, but that connection between them was intense, and he was beginning to decide that it just had to be worth the risk.

Either way, he would end up lonely when this was done, so if anything went wrong he was effectively just cutting short the dreadful anticipation... he had nothing to lose. He needed to tell her the truth... about him and about what the council had really asked of him.

"Rokudaime-sama." A voice called from the doorway, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Putting down the sheet of checks he'd been pretending to read over, he addressed the patient Shinobi. "Yes? Come in."

"Thank you Hatake-sama."

"I apologise for your wait. My assistant seems to be missing today."

"No need. She sent me to see you."

He ran a critical eye over the man, recognising his uniform as medical standard. _So she's at the hospital... _"Any particular reason why?"

"I specialise in eyes, and often work with the Hyuuga. She suggested that it might assist you if I could take a look at your transplant eye."

"She did, did she?"

"I hope that isn't a problem. I understand from your records that you haven't had a hospital check-up in over ten years, so it probably isn't a bad idea. Of course, it's your decision though Hatake-sama."

"Well, as long as I don't have to do anything, do your worst." He untied his hitai-ate to let the man take a look as he thought over Sakura's actions. "Did she say anything else?"

"Not a lot." He replied, moving closer to touch around the edges of his closed eye with a chakra infused finger. "A bit of catching up, but she's quieter than normal."

"Oh. You knew her when she was training I gather?"

"I did sir. I have to say the place is in a sad state without medics like Tsunade and Shizune, and losing Sakura doesn't help."

"So the reason she sent you is suddenly clear..." Kakashi frowned.

"Oh, I'm sorry Rokudaime-sama... I didn't mean to imply that you're keeping her from anything. I'm sure Haruno-san is very happy to be working so closely with the Hokage, and the two of you..." He stopped himself, trying to maintain an air of manners around his superior. "I mean... that's just gossip, so..."

"What's just gossip?"

"Just that the two of you are involved, whether or not that's just a rumour no one is really sure.

"Just a rumour? I can assure you there are no false facts surrounding that one. Sakura and I live together."

"Um... congratulations to the pair of you then. Of course, no one is assuming that's why she's not been able to return to the hospital, and that's not why I'm here."

Kakashi snapped himself out of his distracted thoughts to remind himself that this stranger was not the person to be expressing his feeling to."No, don't worry about it. She's just been on my back for weeks about the hospital losing touch with chakra techniques. I figured she sent you so that her point would be stressed."

"Well, it is a serious problem, but didn't you send out that order yesterday after your meeting with the council of elders?"

"I did yes, that's filtered down already?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this check-up. Does she not know?"

"I guess she probably does now, if she's been in the hospital all day."

"Can you please open your eye Hatake-sama?"

"Not really, no."

"Ok... is that because it's painful or because you are reluctant to use the Sharingan?"

"It's a combination of both actually. As you'll know, it can't be deactivated if my eye is open, and as I get older that Sharingan gets more and more painful every time I use it. One day I may need to use it again, and I'd rather it not split my skull when it really matters."

"That's understandable. From what I've read of the Sharingan, the energy needed to work the eye slowly burns the primary visual cortex, so effectively the more you use it, the more damage you do and the more of your sight you are likely to lose. I'm curious... how is the sight in your other eye?"

"How is that important?"

"The visual cortex relies on both eyes, so if your Sharingan has seriously damaged that area of your brain, you will begin to lose sight in your other eye, or you may not be able to process information from both eyes effectively. This is especially poignant in a transplanted eye, so you need to tell me if you have any difficulties."

"Well, the last few missions I took I had to close my other eye if I used the Sharingan, otherwise it was like I was drunk or something."

"You were experiencing double-vision?"

"If you want to call it that, yeah I guess I was."

"Then you're going to have to face up to some harsh news Hatake-sama."

"Just add it to the list."

He spoke in a low tone, like breaking news to a loved one as he stepped back. "You either slowly go blind, or you have to lose the eye."

"Lose it? As in, altogether? This eye makes me a great ninja... without it I can't protect the village."

"That's the same attitude most Uchiha had... just look what happened to them."

"What happened to the Uchiha is precisely the reason we shouldn't let this kekkei genkai become extinct."

"If a trait becomes extinct, it's just evolution... The Sharingan is faulty. It doesn't work."

"It works for me."

"Not for very much longer. I don't mean to be rude Hatake-sama, but the Sharingan has given you over a thousand jutsus which you have mastered over the years. You were a prodigy long before you inherited the eye, so you really don't need it. Now that you're Hokage, you really must see that this makes sense.

"If it helps your decision any, the sooner you decide, the more chance there is that we might be able to use experimental techniques to synthesise a new transplant eye similar to your right eye. Providing the damage to your visual cortex isn't too bad, chakra therapy may let you see again."

"With both eyes?"

"That's the theory, yes."

"And I haven't been told of this before now because...?"

"You never asked. If you came to doctors more often with your ailments, we could do a lot to help you."

Kakashi stared at the desk in front of him, weighing up the options in his head without paying very much attention to the man's insubordinate statement.

"I will leave you to your thoughts. Shall I send the forms up?"

"Have them sent to my home. That way it doesn't have to go through Sakura."

"Very well." He nodded and left the room.

_I really am getting old..._ he thought to himself as he processed what the younger man had said. Obviously Tsunade's advice to retire from active duty was more apt than he'd previously thought; just to think that any more missions could have made him blind. What use was he as a Hokage when he was doing more damage to himself than to enemies of Konoha?

* * *

By the end of the day, which thanks to the festival was shorter than the rest of the week had been, Kakashi was tired. He really never realized what being Hokage was like without Sakura there to assist him, and he had not seen her all day. This was a slow day, with not so much work to be taken care of, and even that was torturously boring without having her there for company. Even more torturous was the fact that he had come in terms with his feelings, and for once he had no way of judging what she was feeling in return. He began to wonder if she was deliberately avoiding him.

He hadn't expected her to remain missing for the entire day, so was beginning to worry that he'd seriously stepped over a boundary that he shouldn't have, and perhaps he'd freaked her out. It wouldn't be the first time she had taken a day off, but checking in with Kotetsu had proved that this wasn't the case, and she was in fact working… just around the village where he couldn't see her. He had been doubtful, but when he took his break he returned to find Takumi-san's plans for the Hokage monument set out on his desk, accompanied by a little note from her telling him where he needed to sign to approve them.

His arrival home was accompanied by the temptation to go straight to bed, too tired to feel any enthusiasm for using his legs more than was absolutely necessary. It seemed boredom really was for him a significant factor in exhaustion, as he didn't remember being as tired as he was now at all in the few weeks he'd been Hokage.

Just as he was about to head towards the bedroom, dumping his Jounin shirt and mask over the pile of shoes in the porch out of laziness, he heard the sound of Sakura moving about in the kitchen. Collapsing could wait, he decided as a smile fell helplessly into place; He'd missed her all day, and after his earlier realizations, he couldn't wait to spend a little more time with her.

He just couldn't figure her out, no matter how hard he tried. Watching her from the corridor as he leant against the door frame, he let his eye follow her around the room for a little while. Of course, he knew she'd be able to tell he was there, since that was a talent she'd had for a long time, but for now he was content to watch her until she made comment on his appearance.

She was cooking something, with ingredients and equipment spread all over the work surface, bringing a life to the kitchen that Kakashi had not seen there since he was a small boy. It wasn't quite the same… he was older now, and the house had changed just as much as he had over the long years. That place he had kept safe in his memories wasn't the same place he stood at that moment. It was different, but not necessarily worse.

Sakura changed the way he felt about everything. Work was no longer something he did for duty, because she'd shown him that company can change that. Relationships were no longer about his needs, because she'd become someone he wanted to care for more than he cared for himself. That house also was no longer a prison of ghosts… because she had helped him to forget, and filled every dusty corner with new life. Life itself, ceased to be the waiting line to memorial, because now she was giving him hope and now life meant a future.

He scanned his eye over her, looking for any trace or hint of what she'd been thinking about all day. He'd longed so hard to know if that morning had meant as much to her as it did to him. Had it been a release, or a beginning? Her loose actions betrayed nothing, as she concentrated carefully on her task, stopping every now and again to check her hair in her reflection on the oven door.

Kakashi wondered if perhaps she really had not recognized his entrance after all, as he watched her fluster vainly at her clipped up and carefully curled hair in a way he was quite certain she would be too cautious to around him. With a half laugh at her very feminine behaviour, he cleared his throat to attract her attention.

"We didn't have a date planned tonight did we?"

She froze momentarily, glancing up in his direction with a frown. "No."

He sighed in relief. "Good… so you are all dressed up why?"

She was not pleased. This much was obvious by the way she scraped the group of vegetables she'd been chopping into a nearby pan with what could be deemed unreasonable force.

"I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I do actually have a social life outside of pretending to be your saliva buddy."

As irritated as she was, he just couldn't resist getting a rise out of her. "Here I was thinking you were starting to enjoy that…"

"What's your problem?" She snapped, but then breathed heavily to herself as if she had remembered something that encouraged her to calm down.

"Huh?"

"You're the one that didn't want anything to do with the Koyo Matsuri. You said you had no problem with me going alone."

"You're going tonight?"

"You are supposed to be the one running the village… you must know that tonight is the Jounin Momijigari."

"Sometimes I feel like you're really the one running everything… you weren't in the office today."

She shrugged. "I found I could be more useful not being there. There was a lot to be sorted last minute before tomorrow, or I would have checked in."

"At the hospital?" He pried carefully, wary of setting off her temper.

"And the academy, the training centres, the prison, the gate… Everything will be shut down to basics tomorrow, so staffing rotas and emergency procedures all needed to be double checked. The checks would have been up to you yesterday, but the council called you in for that meeting at a seriously bad time."

"So you handled it all yourself?"

She nodded, looking up from her cooking to hold eye contact with him. "The council is enough of a pain in the arse to us without disrupting the rest of the village."

"But all that work, means that we get tomorrow off right?"

"Providing no huge disaster strikes yes. I know for most people it means an excuse not to worry about hangovers... that's why they celebrate the festival tonight."

"Any excuse to stay in bed... can't say I don't empathise." He closed his eye tiredly.

"I'll try not to drink too much, I promise."

"Why?"

"We live together, and we share a bed... I just don't think it's a good idea for me to come home drunk."

"I don't think I've ever seen you drunk." He smirked, imagining that it would probably entertain him greatly.

"I wish I could say the same."

He finally stepped into the room to sit down at the small kitchen table, and began looking for some way of changing the subject as he realised how hot the room when it was being used. "So... you're cooking?"

"Seems that way... or at least I'm trying." She began to try and tidy some of the debris around the room. "You know, because I owe you a meal and I thought it would be mean to leave you with an empty kitchen."

"I could have eaten out." He told her, but didn't sound very convinced. Quietly, he loved that she was cooking for him.

"The normal stores shut early remember?"

"I forgot... guess I really am getting old."

She smiled at him without even turning her head in his direction, but he felt it all the same. "It's a good job I'm here to look after you then."

"Not tonight you aren't." He grumbled before he even realised what he was saying.

"No!" She slammed a cupboard door shut out of frustration, making him jump. "No, you aren't allowed to say that! You have to let me have one night at least to see my friends and have fun for once in my miserable life."

He looked her over carefully, with her hands tensed beside her as she still wouldn't look at him, and shook his head. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you upset. I'm not going to stop you doing anything. I was actually going to change my mind about the festival, but..."

"Please don't..." Sakura asked in a calm voice as she turned off the hob and went to serve up the food she'd been preparing. "I'm sorry if this is rude and selfish, but I don't want to have to put on an act tonight. I get tired of lying to myself and to my friends."

"That's ok Sakura, I understand. You've been an angel these last few weeks and I'm very grateful."

"Thank you Kakashi." She placed the plate of food down in front of him with a light kiss to his cheek and left to finish getting dressed before he could say anything about it.

**AN: Wow, um, I really apologize if that got a bit weird somewhere... was listening to the sucker punch soundtrack and I think it seduced my brain into being bizarre.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	20. Combination

**AN: This time last year, I would have split this into 2 chapters, but I think the flow shouldn't be killed for the sake of a mid-scene cliffhanger. After all, leaving things for a week would probably lessen the effect and I want to get as much of the ShikaTen sorted as possible before the KakaSaku plot get's too deep.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Nineteen: Combination**

Shikamaru was beginning to drive himself slowly insane trying to figure out what to do. He'd come to a screeching conclusion that he could no longer escape, and as he wandered into the party, he felt empty trying to decipher his options. He was falling for her, and now it was too late.

A few hours ago he had been split in two trying to analyse completely different paths of action, trying to find logical sense in either. One half of him yearned to let his feelings out, and to embrace her again for real, not as part of some pretence and not just to blow off steam; The other side of him knew that was not fair on her.

Should he be better off not pushing her in a direction that would make her uncomfortable, and deal with his own pain in silence? Earlier, as he watched her prepare for the party through the gap in a door, he realised he just couldn't put her in that situation.

She was so focused on making the right impression at this party, she'd practically forgotten that he was there, and this alone told him that she still cared more about the pretence then about him. That was the thought that had awoken Shikamaru to his own feelings… _I'd rather just spend time with her alone than _be_ with her in front of others._

* * *

His heart heavy, he had called out to her. "Tenten-sempai, are you gonna be all day?"

"I can't decide which looks best." She griped, "I'm no good at this stuff."

"Why does it even matter? I don't care what you look like."

"You might not care, but other people do."

"Screw other people!" he snapped, patience thinning by the second. _Why does she have to worry about anyone else?_

"Screw you!" she yelled back, slamming the door to her room in frustration.

He couldn't take it anymore. Tired of waiting, he just needed to get out and get some air to think, so he left, slamming the door on the way out.

"Then go by yourself!"

* * *

The argument rang in his ears as he went over everything in his mind, trying to find some way he could have said something differently, but he could find nothing. It was the right thing to do. He didn't want to be out with her anymore if it meant nothing, even if her anger would mean an end to their arrangement for good.

He could see from the averted glances and barely concealed whispers of those around him, that turning up without her spoke volumes about what had happened between them, so much so that he almost began to regret coming. He immediately began searching for an escape route, and soon found it.

The small trail of smoke at the edge of the party beckoned him forwards. It was a signal that she was there, and the second cigarette she was lighting for him was the invitation to sit down beside her on the railings.

"What is it Sakura?"

"Well you look awful. Maybe you should go home."

"Maybe I will." He took the cigarette from her, watching the smoke contrasting against the dark background of night. "You need me for something?"

She pressed a hand against her forehead, frustrated by something she seemed to find difficult to explain. "I'm sorry, but I really need to talk some stuff through, and you are the only one I can do that with."

"Why me?"

"Because..." She swallowed harshly and glanced towards him, speaking below a whisper, "you know about what's been going on between Kakashi and me from the start."

He kept his voice low, empathising with her need to keep things private. "Oh, you mean that I know about what _hasn't_?"

"How I wish that was true. I think what you said before... about a crush... is finally starting to make a little sense to me."

"You've finally figured out he has the hots for you then?"

"You think so? It's not just about what the council said to him?" She took a long drag as she considered this, but didn't appear to be surprised by the notion.

"You are much closer to him than I am, but I've always figured Kakashi to be the kind of guy that would tell the council to stick it if he disagreed with them."

"I'm not sure that helps."

He sighed, understanding that he wasn't really helping her any more than he was capable of helping himself. "Sorry Sakura, I'm not exactly a relationship expert. If talking about him doesn't help, then what do you feel about it?"

"I can't stand it... It's agony if I'm not near him, and then it's agony if I am. I'm starting to lose my hold on reality here." She remained oddly stoic compared to her usual attitude, almost as if she was giving him the main points of a report. "Sometimes, it's like, I wish he would burst in here and make some crazy declaration of passion, but even if he did I would never know if it was genuine. What are you supposed to do when everything is an act? How am I supposed to get him to be honest about his feelings?

"It doesn't help that I'm just too nervous to ask him outright when we're at home. I'm just too aware of the fact that I have absolutely no experience in these things. I mean, for all I know this is just how he is around women... what happened the other day could just have been desperation.

"If I wasn't so scared of being alone again, of having to leave that house, I would break it off... then at least I could be sure his reaction would be honest. I just can't imagine how I'd feel if he said he didn't care... I think that would break me."

The more he listened to her, the more he heard his own problems echoing themselves. "It's horrible. I can say that."

She picked up on his sorrow tone easily. "So you think it's over between you and Tenten?"

"How can something be over that never truly started? I'll say one thing though, no matter how much it hurts, I'm glad I don't have to pretend anymore; I'd give up every second of time spent under pretence if I could just have that one genuine memory of being with her for real."

Her eyes opened a little. "You think you really like her?"

"What?"

"Why do you think I'm trusting you with this? I know your '_thing'_ with Tenten is just a scheme to make Neji jealous."

"That's absurd."

"It's true though, isn't it?"

"Not entirely." He shrugged.

"So, something happened between you two?"

His back tensed up, dreading the turn in the conversation. "I shouldn't really discuss that."

"Ooh... that sounds serious."

"Well as far as she's concerned it never happened and it didn't mean anything, so it is fairly pointless to mention it."

She stubbed out her cigarette, too stunned by his admission to keep her emotional personality under wraps. "You didn't...?"

"Apparently not."

"Oh my god Shikamaru, that's terrible. How did...?"

He carefully batted away her attempt to comfort him physically, while mentally his own blockade broke down. "It just... happened. She's the kind of girl to care though, isn't she? Something like that..."

"I don't know, I'm sorry. She's hard to read at the best of times. I'm not even sure she is a _type_ of girl, if you understand my meaning."

"I get it." He sighed again heavily. "I just wish I could figure out if she was feeling anything... I don't want to hurt her."

"Wow, who'd have guessed you'd turn out to be a romantic..."

"Romanticism isn't a personality feature Sakura, it's an impulse."

She sunk back into herself again, unable to keep things from her mind for long. "One Kakashi doesn't seem to feel..."

"Give him a chance. It's hard to see what you really feel when you're under pressure to feel something else. Don't forget how this all started for him."

"I haven't... I know its work for him, an order just like any other. I just can't seem to get passed how relaxed I feel..."

"Maybe you should tell him. I mean, if you can't get him to tell you what he feels, maybe you should make the first move."

"Sure... but it's me... I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I had imagined something like this and gotten heartbroken, and this time I don't know if I... I mean I can't..."

"You can't decide what you feel for him."

"Exactly."

"I know what that feels like, believe me."

"How are you supposed to know whether it's more than just instinctual lust?" She blushed.

He grunted at the question. "I'm probably not the world's best judge, but... have you slept with him?"

"No! What kind of slut do you take me for? I mean... no offence to you or Tenten..."

"And after days living together, you are still thinking about him, with his clothes on?"

"Otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you about it..."

"Then it's not lust Sakura." He flicked off the ash of his cigarette with a finger. "It's just up to you whether that means anything deeper."

"Is it for you? I mean... you and Tenten... is it just lust, or something deeper?"

"I don't think I mean anything to her; I'm just comfort when she needs it. To me... she's resoundingly the least troublesome woman I've ever met... which is incredible if you've known me for long enough."

He almost regretted opening up as he saw Sakura resurrect the girl inside of her, resting her head in her hands as she leant onto her knees."What is it you love about Tenten?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's good about her that attracted you to her?"

"I don't really think of that. There is just a refreshing lack of anything bad." He frowned deeper with every reminder of what he was sure he'd lost.

"So there's nothing that you think is especially good?"

"Of course there is. I love the fire in her eyes when she's angry or riled up by something. I love how she leans against my shoulder like it's a life support. Then when she kisses... it's like the world drops right out from under me, and I could be a farmer in rice country for all I care."

"Whoa, that's deep."

"That's why I know I'm completely stupid for her."

"That's the phrase she uses." She smiled ear to ear, quietly thinking that Tenten was a good influence on him as he would never normally open up like this.

"What phrase?"

"'Going stupid'. It's her term for love, or lust, or whatever it is."

"Oh..." He suddenly sat up straight in alarm. "Oh!"

"This is where you tell me she's confessed to you without you realising it."

"No. Believe me, I'd be running to her as fast as I could if that was the case." He thought back to that night and everything she had told him. "I think maybe I just understand her a little better."

* * *

She was having a hard enough time trying to find something that wouldn't embarrass her. It certainly wouldn't be the first time that she had turned up to a party in slacks and been laughed out of the establishment. The balance she needed was in finding something acceptably dressy without wearing an actual dress, which was proving harder than she thought.

Distracted by her moment of shallow self-indulgence, she barely even noticed that she'd found herself in an argument with Shikamaru until she heard the apartment door slam shut. His infuriated yell from outside echoed around her ears deafeningly.

"Then go by yourself!"

Now she was alone, having managed to upset the one person who she was supposed to be spending tonight with, and possibly the only person who would be able to distract her from the tedium she'd have to endure. She didn't realize she was capable of hating herself more than she already did.

She knew instantly that she'd gone too far, and her only option was to try her best to make it up to him.

When she arrived, Tenten caught sight of Ino, sat unusually giddy as she looked over passed the lit trees. Taking advantage of her apparent good mood Tenten wandered over, still keeping her jacket wound tightly around her.

"Um... Ino?"

"Hey Ten-chan." She grinned, an omen if there ever was one.

"Please don't attack me for this, but you don't know where Shikamaru is, do you?"

"As a matter of fact I do." She nodded towards where she had been gazing. "He's been sat like that with Sakura for ages, talking intently."

"About what?"

"What else would he be speaking with my best friend about? Me, of course; he must have finally gotten bored of you."

She followed her gaze to catch a glimpse of a smile gracing Shikamaru's usually nonchalant face as he reclined beside Sakura on the far side of the party.

"So it seems." She lowered her head, inexplicably sad at this.

"It was only a matter of time really."

"Whatever you say Ino." She sighed, "I'll leave you to it. When he comes back, tell him... Thanks..."

"Sure. I can respect a gracious loser."

Tenten nodded weakly before turning back to walk the other way. The only reason she had even come to that party, was because he had convinced her, but without him there it all seemed to have no point.

Without him, there wasn't much point to any of it; she would probably just go back to locking herself in her apartment until her mission leave was over. Living in her sleep clothes didn't seem like such a pathetic way to spend her time any more, and compared to being embarrassingly alone around crowds of people, it was definitely top of her list.

She knew he wasn't going to stay forever, but for him to just take off without so much as a goodbye... it hurt. She wouldn't ever consider herself to be over-emotional, but the blow this was giving her cut deeper than any combination of Neji's ignorance's.

As she left the noise of the crowded areas and entered the small part of the park covered only by grass, her vision became slowly blurred with tears as her knees gave way. Sinking to the ground, she curled into a ball, not even caring how stained her clothes would get as emotion took hold of her and she began to sob.

"Tenten? Are you crying?" A deep voice startled her.

"I-I don't cry Neji." She lied, biting her lip. "You know that."

"Ok." He sighed, not intent on arguing. The tone in his voice was the hand on her shoulder that propriety and personal space would not allow him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"Me?" She stood up, trying to steady herself. "Why would you be looking for me?"

"I heard a rumour that you and Nara split."

"I heard that rumour too."

"Is it true?"

"It may as well be."

"Do you care?"

"Do _you_ care?" she eyed him curiously.

"I suppose I do... I know I've been a little distant since that night."

"You have?"

"Don't play dumb. I tried to speak with you about it the other day, but you were... busy. It's probably not what you would expect though."

She stared at the ground glumly. "I've given up expecting things from people anymore..."

"Shikamaru is a close friend of mine, but if he has upset you, I will not hesitate to damage him."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm as much at fault."

"So you are you going to tell me what went on?"

"Nothing went on, not really. We weren't even really dating."

"I do not understand."

She almost laughed, faced with explaining the ridiculous notion. "He's trying to convince Ino that he isn't even remotely in love with her. It hasn't really worked though, so I think he gave up."

"I can't believe you'd go along with that."

"I was bored. I had a moment of weakness."

"Obviously."

She looked up at his stoic expression, inexplicably embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I upset you..."

"Tenten, you are my closest friend. Do not worry about things like that."

"Closest friend..." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know if you got some other impression. I know some people have. I just can't be more than a friend with anyone I'm not told to."

"I know... I never had any other impression. I know I don't feel that way about you."

"You don't?"

"No. Why is that so surprising?"

"I don't know. I guess it's just what everyone says."

"It's not what I say." She began to walk, unwilling to stand still during another of their one-sided conversations.

He matched her pace. "Then what do you say about Shikamaru?"

"I say nothing. There's no point."

"He meant that little to you?"

"What he meant to me is irrelevant. I just know there's no benefit in chasing something once it is gone." Truthfully, the reason she didn't feel for Neji the way everyone assumed was simply that he'd been replaced in her heart and her head by something deeper. What he meant to her was in fact anything but irrelevant to her... just to everyone else.

"Are you scared, that perhaps he might turn you down if you confessed your true feelings?"

"No, I'm not scared of rejection."

"What is then?"

"I'm scared of what it would do to me. If I let my guard down, surrendered to my feelings…" _Wow, I'm such a hypocrite_ she realised silently to herself, _I got into this mess to try and get Neji to open up and yet I..._ "I'm scared of letting myself relax, letting myself go stupid around him."

"So that's what you mean by 'going stupid' over someone? I always thought that was because you thought relationships were foolish."

"I know, that's what most people think."

"So that's it? You're never going to fight for what you had with Shikamaru?"

"Not if it means going stupid, no."

"Yet, you think _I'm_ insane for walking to a friend's house and back."

"It's not really that insane. If it meant that much to him he would do something about it anyway. Just the fact that he hasn't tells me that I made the right decision."

"You are crying though, despite that reasoning."

"You wouldn't understand." She began to cry again, frustrated by trying to justify herself to someone who would never know what she was feeling. "It's hard to give up on something that means so much."

"Then don't."

**AN: Ok, this is kind of killing me, cos there was a huge chunk of Sakura POV meant to be on the end of this to explain her feelings a bit, but the word count is trying to eat me and I feel it's better to leave things with Shikamaru and Tenten this time. It's cruel I know, but it makes sense I hope.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


	21. Stupid

**AN: Hopefully this isn't too much of a disappointment. The Sakura scene here was originally part of the last chapter but the length didn't work, so this may seem a little unstructured.**

**Hokage-sensei**

**Chapter Twenty-one: Stupid**

As Sakura had approached the gate to their home that night, she had gotten her wish. Finally, she had experienced the sight of her new life and her new home with an arm around her that loved her.

Of course, it wasn't quite how she would have hoped, as the love that he had for her was that of a brother and over the course of the night the pair of them had become so intoxicated that his hold on her was merely an attempt to keep them both upright. That was hardly the point.

She'd had a night of freedom with her friends and yes, she had let it get to her head. By the time she'd tripped her way over the doorstep to the Hatake residence, she was quite certain half the neighbourhood knew what state she'd returned home in.

"Don't let sensei see you!" Naruto urged her with a laugh in the most unsuccessful whisper he'd ever managed.

"Stupid!" She giggled as she pushed his hand away from her waist. "We share a bed... he'd have to be blind!"

"Ewwwwwwwwwww!" he whined.

"Go home Naruto."

"Why?"

She put a finger on his forehead to confuse him. "If you don't do it now, you'll pass out somewhere bad."

"Yeah yeah ... g'night Sakura!"

"Shhh! I'll see you later." She pushed him out the door and shut it to prevent him hanging around any longer.

Once the sound of her friend's terrible drunken singing faded out of her range of hearing she took a deep breath and silence began to draw in around her.

Her smile faded as she turned away from the door and stared down the dark corridor of their home. It was in these moments of stillness, despite inebriation and stress and everything else, that realisations dawned on her.

It was a broken record that had skipped all night long, every time the distractions of the night detached themselves, from the moment Shikamaru had left her alone. What they had discussed, and the look of loss on his face, sent her mind along the track it had been struggling to get onto for weeks.

He was in love with her... real, true love that he couldn't do a thing about, and for him the agony of not knowing was too much for him to bear. Shikamaru had given up everything to save himself from frustration. For all Sakura could tell, Tenten could have felt the same but despite her guileless nature she was impossible to read.

The parallels were terrifying. Every time she thought of Shikamaru's expression as he stared into space, all she saw was Kakashi. Was that how they were too? Was that the expression Kakashi had when she wasn't looking?

For Shikamaru and Tenten, putting up pretence was the beginning of the end, and it was that which inevitably pulled them apart. Sakura knew that the same thing could so easily happen to her, and that the public face of their relationship was a barrier that would stop anything progressing naturally... and it scared her.

Somewhere between that last cigarette on the edge of the rooftop and the last drunken dance before Naruto dragged her home, she had reached an odd sense of clarity. This wasn't fair.

Athough she would never be able to find the words to tell him, it meant the world to her to finally be with someone who cared as much about her as she did them, no matter what stupid mixed up plan started it. She no longer cared that it only started as a result of an order.

She didn't care if it was real or not, but she did really care that he shouldn't ever feel the way Shikamaru did. She cared that he shouldn't feel alone.

It wasn't complete yet, this puzzle of theirs, and she didn't know yet what she thought about the result but for now she would keep working on it. He deserved at least that much from her, and she deserved it from herself.

Shaking off the thoughts, she stumbled her way towards the bedroom, palms flat against the walls as she went like she needed to hold them still. She found the door wide open, Kakashi sprawled across the entire bed diagonally, bed sheets kicked to one side lazily. Despite all of Naruto's best efforts he was incredibly still asleep, so he didn't so much as twitch when she kicked her shoes across the floor.

Smiling, she pulled out her hair and changed her dress for an oversized t-shirt, running a blurry eye over his sleeping face with no inhibitions whatsoever. Without another thought she collapsed onto the bed beside him, resting her head comfortably against his chest, her throbbing ears barely registering the slow rhythmic sound of his heartbeat.

An arm dragged over his waist, she sank into the warmth of him as one final thought echoed her into sleep. _This, I can cope with._

* * *

Having waited around for longer than he would normally would at a party with Ino present, Shikamaru began to wonder why he hadn't seen Tenten all night. He couldn't imagine that she'd gotten so panicked about what to wear that she'd decided not to come, so his best assumption was that she was avoiding him.

With a headache developing from the annoyingly loud music, and his feet tiring from the effort of slowly circling the area in hope of finding her, he was close to giving up when he found his patience thinnest in front of the one person he would least like to speak to. Not that it mattered much, not now anyway.

"Hey Ino." He sighed heavily, resigning himself to whatever she was going to do as she sauntered over.

"So, I'm prepared to forgive you completely for being so much of a tease." She smiled, hooking an arm around his with a kiss to his cheek. "Shall we go somewhere private?"

"What?" he frowned at her. Unimpressed, he folded his arms and stood solid, with no intention of letting her drag him anywhere.

"Well now that silly thing with Tenten is all over and done with, there's no reason why we shouldn't..."

"Over...?"

"Yeah. If you ask me you're both better off. She said to say 'thanks' by the way, though I don't really know why. I suppose it could be for the self-esteem boost your little prank gave her, since she did look very pretty earlier."

Deathly serious, he grabbed her by both shoulders like a petulant child and forced her to stand an arm's length away from him. "She was here?"

"Yeah, while you were talking to Sakura about me." She traced a hand up along his outstretched arm in an effort to soften him. "Took one look at your smiling face and wished us the best, isn't that sweet of her?"

He'd heard the rumour that they had broken up, but had worked diligently to make sure not to claim one way or another all night. He wouldn't say a thing until he'd talked to her. That alone wasn't too hard, but hearing that she had gotten up the courage to come alone and had obviously gotten the crazy side of the rumour from Ino was nearly heartbreaking. Did she really not care? Had she really wished Ino the best, and had stepped out of this drama he'd put her into?

He pulled his arm away from Ino with a scowl. "You need to grow up and snap out of it right now! I am not interested in you, and I never have been. I am certainly not going to suddenly change my mind after everything Tenten and I have been through. Clinging onto me like an idiot is just embarrassing Ino and you really need to pack it in."

He stormed away from her in anger, too worried for Tenten to exercise restraint. Even if their relationship was truly at an end, it didn't stop him caring for her, and after the last time Ino had upset her he needed to make sure.

As he'd been unable to find Tenten amongst the crowds, he assumed that she'd gone home for the night and made his way there right away. What he never expected to find was her apartment door, left unlocked as usual (seen as she refused to give him keys), but with a note pinned to it with one of her senbon. By the neat, even handwriting, it was obvious to him that it had to be written by Neji:

"_She cried."_

Simple but effective. Shikamaru barely let the thought register before a sick feeling rushed through him and he stepped into the apartment without delay.

He found her in the bedroom, sleeping with her head resting on the bed as she slumped in a huddle on the floor. Her cheeks were no longer damp, but were stained a light grey where her mascara had run. Her hair lay in soft curls over her shoulders, framing her face in a way he'd never seen.

He was surprised to find that, despite the range of yukata she had been picking over earlier (which for the women of fire country were as much a part of life as a kunoichi's uniform), she was wearing a dress. Astonishingly, it was a light chiffon dress of the kind of grace he, or anyone else, never expected Tenten to pull off.

What Ino had said was right, that she had looked pretty, even dishevelled by emotion, though he knew it was nothing to do with a confidence boost from their fling. She had an energy that appealed to the core, even if only to him, and this was only amplified by the image of her displaying her true femininity in fabric he could only describe as being his absolute favourite colour (or if he was unsure before, it was certainly his favourite now).

So trapped in awe he was, that he completely failed to notice when her eyes fluttered open and noticed him there.

"Shikamaru?" Her voice cracked gently, still hoarse from the sobs she'd let out once she'd been left alone in her room earlier.

He looked up from her body to make eye contact, but couldn't manage to say a word.

She sat up straight as she realised she wasn't imagining him and began trying to tie her hair back quickly. "I'm sorry, I was tired. Did Neji go home?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Excuse me, I'm such a state." She muttered, flustered as she stood up and tried to pull a throw from her bed over her dress so that he couldn't see. "I suppose you've come to get your things."

"No, that wasn't-"

"Well I can't imagine what else you'd be here for."

His heart sunk, leaving him to feel completely alien. "I'm sorry. Yes, I suppose that was it..."

He felt suddenly like he was an unwanted presence in the room, the harsh tones of her voice cutting like sharper blades than any of her mastered weapons. He'd hurt her, obviously, and that made him feel sick.

She turned away from him, avoiding eye contact as she struggled to her feet. "What happened? Things were so good."

As much as he wanted to assist her, it wasn't his place anymore. The most he could offer was his sincere apology, "I'm sorry Sempai. It's just not fair."

"What's not fair?"

"Well, you're so nice to me, putting up with Ino and spending all this time with me and..." he glanced down, "Obviously trying so hard to make me feel better... It's no wonder I like you the way I do. I don't even know how you knew that dress was a colour I find beautiful, but you see it's not right that you should be doing things for me when you deserve so much more, some one more.

"I'm the one supposed to be taking care of you, and I don't even understand why you were crying. You deserve to be with the one you love; with Neji."

She shook her head in disbelief, still refusing to look at him. "I don't... I don't love Neji, I don't know what colours you like or dislike, I don't try hard to make you feel better, and most importantly, I don't deserve more."

"That doesn't mean you have to put up with me. I don't want to hurt you."

"No, that doesn't. The reasons I have to keep you around are so much more substantial."

"You can always ask Ino to help with your bandages, or Sakura, and you're nearly recovered now."

"I don't want... fuck Shikamaru, can't you see I can't be strong anymore..." she began to tear up again, her voice increasingly weak.

He went to put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, but stopped himself. He reminded himself just how stupid he was to let this linger longer than it needed to. The way he felt needed distancing from her, and the way she was now was even more justification for that point; She was too weak for him to lose his strength, and she needed him as a friend.

"You are always strong."

"No. No I'm not... I can't bear to think of dealing with things on my own anymore, and I can't hold myself together when someone says hurtful things, and my ribs are hurting so badly it feels like my chest is imploding and I can barely breathe for the pain." Her legs went weak beneath her once again, and she let herself kneel back down, taking shallow breaths as she did so.

"Perhaps you should take another painkiller if the pain is that bad."

"No. I can't take them."

He noted how she was physically shaking, her nerves taking an obvious hit from the pain she was in. This wasn't an emotional problem anymore and his instinct forced him to give in, kneeling down beside her and holding her trembling hands between his own for support.

"What do you mean you can't take them?"

"I thought they were making me slow, that they were making me..."

"You stopped taking them altogether? Are you mad?"

"Yes!" she gasped as the pain from her ribs sunk through her. "Yes, I'm completely insane. There's something wrong with my brain and it's making me act like I'm stupid."

"Stupid..." he whispered, thinking back to what Sakura had told him. She had been right, that Tenten could have told him without him even realising what it meant, but there was only one thought registering in his mind.

She burst into tears again, clutching onto her chest. "It doesn't work."

"You still think you're stupid?"

"I hate you. It's your fault"

"Good..."

She looked up at him, bewilderment in her eyes.

He took a deep sigh, "... because I guess it's your fault that I'm stupid too."

"You..." Tenten struggled to think through the convulsions she was feeling in her body, "You've been spending the last ten minutes trying to break up with me and you feel exactly the same way? Then why the hell am I crying and everyone else seems to be convinced that we've broken up?"

"I'm not trying to break up with you... not if it's real." He traced a finger through her loose hair, letting go of the hands as she began to calm a little. "I just want this stupid pretence to stop. It's me and you, and that's no one else's business. Got it?"

"I really hate you." She smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... Just be glad you're so clever, because I'm about to get very... very stupid."

He pulled her into a hug, never wanting to let go as she rested her head against his shoulder, and he wrapped the throw blanket around her more fully. Her shaky limbs lay their weight onto him with absolute trust and he began to process that she wasn't going to leave him.

A wave of contentment began to settle around them both... up until the horrible moment that he felt her relax. The tight grip she'd had on the fabric of his clothing loosened as her head rolled across his shoulder to rest in the crook of his neck. This wasn't right and he knew it, reaching down to feel her pulse quicken unhealthily while he tried to restrain himself from panic. _How long has she not been taking those painkillers?_

"Tenpai..." he urged, hoping she wasn't fully unconscious. "Come on, please don't do this to me...

**AN: I can't apologize enough for how long this has taken, for something that effectively just needed a few grammar tweaks and typing up. Life has been taking a little too much time out of my schedule over the past few months but I'm back into my pit of no hope now so I'm writing again for a little while. My family have a lot of personal issues going on at the moment so I can't guarantee another update soon, but keep hoping.**

**Stay shiny and show the luff**

**XX Belizma-chan** **XX**


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